Protector of Silence
by Sharkey52
Summary: Kellyn has always had one dream, to become a Pokemon Ranger. Along with his friends: overconfident Keith, positive Rhythmi, day-dreamer Kate, mysterious Starlight and his partner pokemon Luna, he takes on both the challenges of Ranger School and a deeper challenge that lies within himself. Will his late brother's past come back to haunt Kellyn, or can he prove he too can be a hero?
1. Run for a life

**"You call this treason?!"**

**"Must be...alive. Must be...protected."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter One – Run for a life**

There was commotion throughout the woods. Black-clad men scoured the forest, their Houndoom and Growlithes searching for a scent.

Standing ankle-deep in a stream, the dark-haired boy looked over his shoulder through the trees. His winced with pain as he twisted his torso, the gaping wound in his side making him feel twice as vulnerable. He'd lost a lot of blood, but he no longer cared. All he had to do was get away from this place, then he could, for the first time in years, finally rest. No more sneaking around, no more hiding among the villages; just finally an eternal peace. He smiled - even if it meant his final end, he looked forward to that.  
>He looked down at the bundle in his arms, suddenly feeling pity. He adored the object he was carrying, yet he would leave it soon enough, never to return. He felt a twang of sadness.<p>

Why?

This wound wasn't self-inflicted, nor were the ones looking for him completely responsible. He'd been running for his life when he tried to climb over a barbed wire fence with sharp wooden spikes on top of the poles. One of the searchers had grabbed his leg and pulled him downward, impaling him on the pole and then sliding down onto the barbed wire. His escape had been nothing short of sheer luck, but luck wouldn't keep him alive for long. Instincts always had, and now those instincts were draining out of him along with his blood. He looked beyond the trees, staring at the flickering orange and red beyond them and the sparks and smoke rising high in the sky amongst the screams of agony.

"Everyone" he breathed "Please, forgive me." What was this, he was asking for forgiveness? He was Lunick Kazuki - outlaw of the Great War - he wasn't one to ask for forgiveness. He lied, he cheated, he stole; anything that kept him alive, and his precious treasure safe. But when that village had gone up in flames, he had felt sorry. Sorry for all the ones who had helped him, albeit only for a week. This was how he repaid them: sending them to their deaths.

"Please understand" he said to no one in particular, an almost begging tone in his voice "This must be done." There was a long list of people that would die that night, and soon he would atone for his past actions and would sign his name to that list. "I'm sorry."

Almost automatically, the bundle began to stir. Lunick shushed it, he couldn't afford to be spotted.

"Just a little longer" he whispered "Please, just until I get us out of here." As if the bundle understood, it went silent. He smiled. Something so small, something in a way so innocent, why was it caught up in a cops-and-robbers chase like this? Why was this happening at all?

"Hey! You!" He turned and looked towards the bank. Five chasers and their three Pokémon stopped at the water's edge. A wind of silence blew in between them, causing Lunick's blue-black hair to agitate the scars on his face. He blinked as torch beams fell upon him and felt a temporary sting of pain as the scar across his left eyelid and cheek caused his vision in that eye to go blurry.

"Lunick Kazuki!" The one who must be the leader of the group barked "I arrest you for treason among a variant of other crimes!"

"Treason!" Lunick retaliated in anger, aqua eyes flashing dangerously, as if daring them to challenge him further. "You call this treason?!"

"You hide a weapon that could cause a loss of life on a grand scale across Almia!" the leader told him "That is treason!"

"This is not a weapon!" Lunick growled, tembling in anger "And you're the ones with blood on your hands! You killed an entire village, and who knows how many more over the years! You're the reason my little brother can never lead a normal life!"

"And it appears blood is on your hands too Lunick, just your own rather than other peoples' this time" the leader smirked, looking at the wound still draining life-force from the fifteen-year-old "It appears our chase is almost at an end. You know what this means Lunick, you finally have to accept you have lost!" He laughed like he was already the victor, followed by all the other searchers. Lunick gave the loudest growl so far, almost matching that of a Mightena. They were mocking him.

"You will never claim it!" he snarled "Even if I must protect it all the way to my own grave, I will never let it fall into your hands!" The leader drew back slightly - not entirely sure what Lunick meant by 'it', but knowing he'd hit a nerve.

"Houndoom!" he ordered "Fire Blast!" The Houndoom opened its mouth and let a stream of fire whiz from its mouth. Clutching the bundle close to his chest, Lunick dodged the Fire Blast by leaping at least three times his own height into the air with no problems at all. His eyes flashed like blue fire in the amber light, his scar rippling fiercely like his face was that of an escaped convict. Well, leave the escaped bit off and he guessed he was.

"Growlithe!" two of the other searchers commanded "Flamethrower!" Two Flamethrowers launched themselves into the air. Lunick smiled.

'_No choice_' he thought '_Just one last time shouldn't hurt._' His eyes flashed from aqua-blue to a soul-freezing blue-white. The Flamethrowers bent away from him in two arches, instead turning back upon their senders. The searchers and Pokémon screamed in panic as they leapt from the explosion.

Some way from the explosion, Lunick landed in the stream again. He looked over his shoulder, raised his face to the sky and laughed almost manically, a mere shadow of the guardian ranger of Fiore four years ago.

"That's what you get for ruining my little brother's life!" he laughed. He then cried out with pain and fell down on one knee, his left hand moving to his wound. Briefly, the world span and he was almost sick.

'_I'm running out of time_' he thought, looking at the bundle cradled in his right arm '_But I still have one last mission to complete_.' He stood up, looking back over his shoulder.

Looking at the smouldering village, he couldn't help but think of Solana Hinata, his closest friend. Both had been Pokémon Rangers before the Great War between Almia and Fiore had begun. Lunick had fled the eyes of the rangers the day the war began, and not long after Solana followed him. Then they met the young boy they took on as their little brother, a mere baby but with a great destiny in Lunick's eyes. They'd fled, hiding in villages and forests across Almia and Fiore until they could be granted three boat tickets off this archipelago of fights and rejection. But only three months after meeting their brother, Solana had perished at the hands of searchers. She had been noble, backed off a cliff to her death instead of just being taken prisoner. She had been a true ranger, not the traitors these days who just followed orders from anyone. But Lunick missed her, with all his heart. Maybe, if things were as they should, before this stupid war, then they could've been together. It was no secret he had held feelings for the blue-haired ranger, and if he bled at this rate then he may see her again before the sun rose. But first he had something to take care of.

He turned on his heels and, ignoring the pain in his side, ran upstream.

* * *

><p>Chicole Village. The sun was slowly rising over the cliffs. Bird Pokémon tweeted and crowed as they welcomed in the new morning. The land was florishing with life, Pokémon and people alike moving to this secluded corner of the world to escape the ragin war further north. The beauty of this piece of land was as-of-yet unblemished.<p>

The farmer turned, wipping his brow as he stood up strait. He looked down at the freshly dug earth on the farmland south of the village. He turned and was about to leave to return to the tiny settlement just to the north when he saw something walk out of the trees. Or should he say someone. A boy, about fifteen with dark blue hair and aqua eyes that were pale and dull, like they'd had all the life drained out of them. His skin would have probably been pale if it hadn't been streaked with dirt and he wore the traditional Fiore ranger uniform.

'_A Fiorian_?' the man wondered '_In Almia_?' He wore a Fiore uniform, but there was something about his eyes that made him look Almian. Was it possible, this ranger was both?

'_Half Almian, half Fiorian_' the man thought '_Near-black hair, aqua eyes... wait a minute_!_Does that mean he's..._!'

"Please...help us" The boy, carrying a small bundle in his arms, dropped to his knees, a scar across his left eyelid and cheek rippling in the rising light.

"Lunick Kazuki?" the man asked. He had heard of this boy before, but not in a good way. He then noticed that the left side of the ranger's jacket was stained a dark red colour.

Blood.

"Not...much time" Lunick gasped for air "Can't protect...any longer." He shoved the bundle he had had been carrying along the ground towards the man. "Take...care..." He trailed off as the man bent down to look at the bundle. Inside a seven-month-old baby was sound asleep. "...Brother." The man stared wide-eyed at the baby, then the dying boy in front of him. Lunick fell onto his front, shoving the baby closer to him. He looked up into the man's eyes "Please...protect. Please."

Just then the baby woke. It opened its eyes, an unusual but enchanting blue-green colour, the colour of the ocean. The baby opened its mouth as if to make a sound, but no sound came out. But the thing that interested the man so much were the pupils of those blue-green eyes: they were white as marble.

"Brother...great destiny..." Lunick continued "Must be...alive. Must be...protected."

"He shall be" The man got down on one knee and used one hand to stop the bundle of cloth that the baby was wrapped in from rolling away "I shall protect him." Lunick closed his eyes and gave a content sigh.

"Glad" he breathed "Thank...you." His hand slipped from the bundle.

"Wait" the man said "The child, does he have a name?" There were some tense moments where the man feared the dack-haired ranger may have passed, but then a tiny weak voice rasped:

"Brother's name...Kellyn." Then Lunick gave a final shuddering sigh and lay still.

For a few seconds the man stayed paralysed, looking down in horror at the still-warm, battered and bloodied body of the once proud hero of Fiore. He then looked down at the baby who was finally making a tiny gurgling noise of laughter.

"Kellyn" the farmer breathed.

The baby then moved its arms and clapped its hands together in delight.


	2. The silent child

**"Do you want mercy?"**

**"I didn't know you cared so much."**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Protector of Silence<strong>

**Chapter Two – The Silent Child**

Luke gave a sigh as he watched the woods on either side of the path fly by him in a flicker of green, black and brown.

"Whoa Rapidash" he said, halting the Pokémon he was riding under a big tree just north of the village. The fire horse immediately lowered its head to munch on the withering autumn grass.

Luke sighed and looked around, taking in the early-morning forest. He was unaware that behind him, a figure was stalking like a tiger through the bushes towards him. The figure was, like a tiger, on all fours, hidden by a brown jacket that was too big for him which had a hood hiding his face. As Luke stopped to sigh, the figure sprung like a cat out of the bushes. Luke turned just in time to see what might be a massive flying squirrel before crashing to the ground on his back. Said large object landed on top of him, his legs folded to the left in dog-like fashion, grinning down at Luke with a pair of blue-green eyes with unique snow-white pupils. The boy whipped a notebook out of his pocket and let the black ring binder do its job. His grabbed the front cover and let the pages hang down in front of Luke's face. Written on the front page in neat but large letters was:

**Got you! Did you miss me?**

"Kellyn!" Luke complained "Get off me! You'll break my ribcage!"

Kellyn sat there, a finger on his chin and a '_Hmm, let me see..._' expression on his face. He then grabbed a small yellow pencil out of his pocket and wrote another sentence underneath the previous two.

**How about...no?**

"Move Heffalump!" Luke complained, struggling to get away, but despite his naturally small size Kellyn seemed heavier than the average eleven-year-old. Or at least, when he's sitting on top of you that is.

Kellyn folded his arms and wore an '_Oh yeah, make me_!' look on his face. Luke blew two strands of stray black hair out of his eyes before attempting to roll Kellyn off him.

"Move it!" he barked. Kellyn though was having fun overpowering his older and usually stronger friend. He shook his head and shifted his weight so the brunt of it came down upon Luke's thighs. The older brother winced with pain momentarily, but then realised Kellyn had made a fatal mistake. In the process of inflicting teasing pain, he had slackened his grip on Luke's wrist. The dark-haired boy reacted quickly and, wrenching his left hand free, seized a handful of Kellyn's chestnut-brown hair. Kellyn raised both hands to try and free his hair, but Luke was quicker. The second his right wrist was free, he dealt Kellyn a swift blow to the jaw. The younger boy opened his mouth to give a yelp of silent pain before countering. He grabbed a hold of Luke's jacket collar, lifted his neck and head up and slammed his friend into the ground. Luke, momentarily winded by the attack, had just enough time to think up a plan as Kellyn raised his hand for another strike. As the fist came down, Luke caught it and rolled over. Now Kellyn was on the bottom with his wrists pinned to the ground with Luke kneeling on top.

"Ha ha! Got ya now Kellyn!" he laughed "And the mighty warrior has overpowered the monstrous Gyarados! Now, beg for mercy!" Kellyn blinked and then rolled his blue-green eyes. Luke suddenly realised what he just said.

"Okay then, rephrase question!" he smiled "Do you want mercy?" Kellyn's eyes blazed with determination as he struggled against Luke's grip and shook his head defiantly. "Then thee shall suffer the consequences!"

Luke let a dribble of saliva hang from the corner of his mouth. Alarmed by the dangling spit, Kellyn performed his own party trick. His eyes changed to a white colour that had a tinge of blue in them just to separate them from his ghostly-white pupils. Automatically Luke felt himself being lifted up in the air, carried to the left before landing in the dirt, hard.

"Ow!" he complained, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head. He turned hissed to the right and saw Kellyn was still lying on his back, panting like he'd run a marathon.

"Great Arceus, Kellyn!" Luke gasped for breath "You nearly gave me a heart, attack back there!" Kellyn sat up and wrote in his notebook:

**Don't pretend you were surprised, you knew it was me.**

Luke sighed. Kellyn knew him better than he knew himself.

"Okay, I knew it was you" he sighed "But you just jumped out of the bushes like that, what were you doing in there?!" Kellyn wrote another word.

**Training.**

"For what?" Luke asked. Kellyn rolled his eyes and added three more words to the last one to make a sort-of sentence.

**Training for Ranger School.**

"Oh!" Luke nodded "Now I remember! You're leaving tomorrow aren't you?"

Kellyn shrugged and nodded. But behind those white pupils, he looked worried.

"Hey, don't worry, you'll make new friends" Luke reassured him. Kellyn have him a '_How_?' look. "Well you just walk in there, sit down next to someone, say hi, start a conversation and... oh..." He stopped when he saw Kellyn was looking at the ground miserably and he realised he'd used the words 'Say' and 'Conversation' in the same sentence. Some best friend he was!

It was no secret Kellyn couldn't talk. It was no secret he was a psychic being either. Luke knew the story of the psychic beings well - a powerful race of pacifist humans, their children mute and their adults terrifying. Most had fled the regions of Almia and Fiore when the war broke out, but Kellyn had been born right in the thick of it. Apparently he'd been abandoned, before being brought to Chicole Village by the most unlikely of people. But the signature feature of young psychic beings, besides their amazing powers that grew as they did, was their inability to speak. Kellyn could groan, moan, snort and give a funny sort of squeaky-laugh or sigh, but talking was out of the question. He had explained he wanted to speak, but every time he did it was like something physically blocked his throat and refused to let him. Luke had made himself sure the whole psychic power things were the result of a vocal-sacrifice on Kellyn's part, but he knew the brown-haired eleven-year-old would trade those powers for the ability to speak. So naturally, he was rather touchy on the subject.

"Um...Kel" Luke tried the change the subject "I-I was heading up to the cliff. You know, the one above the beach? You wanna come too?"

Kellyn paused for a second before nodding, but as Luke walked towards his grazing Rapidash, he gave him the notebook with a new sentence written in it, Luke barely had a second to read the message before Kellyn sprinted off at an insanely fast speed down the path towards Vientown. Luke sighed and shook his head at the message:

**Alright then, but you'll have to beat me there first!**

* * *

><p>The sun was warm on Kellyn's face as he folded his arms behind his head. The grass tickled his bare arms and lower legs as the wind blew the peak of his chestnut-brown hair back and forth. Beside him, Luke was also lying down in the grass, his blue eyes closed and a blade of grass floating out of the corner of his mouth. The sea breeze was peaceful and if you listened carefully you could hear the sound of the waves smashing into the rocks of the cliff below.<p>

Kellyn smiled the two of them had shared some good times out here. For instance the time they and a couple of friends had come for a picnic here. An Aipom had stolen one of Luke' sandwiches and he chased after it for a good hour before finally returning with twigs and leaves in his hair and the world's angriest expression on his face. Another time was the football competition. They'd been playing around was a football and marked out two goals to shoot in. The game had ended in fits of laugher after Clio's Houndour had grabbed the ball in its mouth and burst it with its fangs.

It also held one bad memory. Luke had almost fallen to his death here. He'd just been playing around when he'd walked too far backwards and just disappeared. That had been the time Kellyn had first revealed his psychic powers to someone who wasn't his family. He'd just willed Luke to stop falling and he had. He was suspended in air with the same glow as if he was being controlled by a Psychic attack, only instead of blue it was white. Then the same power had lifted the black-haired boy back onto the cliff.

Until then, Kellyn had discovered he had the power to move small objects with his mind. He had even found a way to clean up his room fast by moving multiple objects at a time. But Luke was the biggest 'object' he had even moved mentally, and even then he felt like he'd sprinted half-a-mile when he did. So he'd stuck with small objects with the odd acceptation of getting Luke off him when he ended up in tackling-to-the-ground situations like that morning. Even that had a reason. Ever since they could walk, Luke and Kellyn had been having competitions to see who could win a sort of pounce-and-wrestle competition each day. At first, everyone had feared the much stronger and slightly older Luke would easily overpower Kellyn and may actually cause harm to the latter. But they discovered that actually Luke was as gentle as possible with Kellyn, that had been until his younger friend had learn of his psychic powers which could now easily win a fight if he wanted them to. For this reason, even if Luke won the fights at least Kellyn would be able to avoid the ending tricks such as today's saliva trick. But recently, Kellyn's sneak-and-pounce techniques had won him more fights than anyone had expected.  
>"By the way, I'd appreciate you tapping me on the shoulder to let me know you're behind me" Luke spoke up as if he could read Kellyn's mind, letting the grass blade fly away into the wind, like he could read his companion's mind "You should save your tigerleopard tricks for the real bad guys."

Kellyn sat up, opened his notebook and double underlined a previously wrote sentence:

**Training for Ranger School.**

"Oh, you and that school!" Luke sighed with exasperation like they'd been through this many times before. "You treat it like it's Arceus' courtroom or something!"

Kellyn frowned with disapproval. His blue-green eyes darkened and even his strangely white pupils took on a grey glint.

"Geez, it was only a joke!" Luke said quickly as he sat up, waving his hands in front of him to try and ward off the younger boy's glare "I'm sure becoming a ranger's very important to you! Your friend was a ranger, wasn't he?"

Kellyn cocked his head to the side in thought, then frowned and wrote something:

**Lunick wasn't my friend, he was my brother.**

"You weren't exactly blood-related" Luke snorted, staring up at the sky "He and that friend of his."

Kellyn clutched the pencil, wrote something else, tapping his pencil to the side of the notebook when he was finished:

**Solana was my sister, as Lunick was my brother.**

"Yeah, sure, whatever" Luke sighed "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't be expected to like your 'siblings'. My parents have convinced me of that. They were both outlaws after all."

Kellyn's anger boiled. He pushed so hard on the pencil he subconsciously worried he may snap the lead and have to travel all the way back to the village to get a sharpener. He then threw his notebook and pencil into the grass beside Luke and stormed off towards the steps leading down to the bench.

**Solana and Lunick gave their lives for me! Lunick died begging that I should be protected! I owe them more than you will EVER understand!**

"Argh! Kellyn!" Luke grabbed the writing instruments, got up and grabbed Kellyn's arm to stop him from going. "Look, I'm sorry okay! I didn't know you cared so much."

Kellyn paused for a long time before he took the notebook and pencil from Luke and wrote something, a slight tear in his left eye. He handed it to Luke.

**I want to be a Pokémon Ranger, like them. I want to make them proud.**

"That's why?" Luke asked. Kellyn nodded, took the notebook back and wrote something else below.

**I want to show everyone. Show them it is possible for a mute to be a ranger.**

"I see" Luke nodded "You...you'll be a great ranger, I'm sure of it."

Kellyn gave a small smile. He didn't need to tell Luke that he was grateful for that comment, Luke could often sense what his closest friend was thinking.

"So you're leaving tomorrow?" Luke asked, Kellyn nodded "Boarding school, ironic isn't it? You're starting boarding school just as I am leaving it."

Kellyn smiled and nodded. Luke had returned from his year of boarding school in Pueltown that summer. Now he was heading to Sinnoh to study as a doctor. Kellyn was happy it was this year he was going to boarding school, the year Luke and his family were moving to Sinnoh. Luke would be studying in Jublife City, meanwhile his parents would be moving to the nearby Sandgem Town for a happy retirement. Sinnoh was a peaceful place to live in peace, far from Almia and Fiore, far away from the line of fire. But also, far away from Kellyn.

**When do you leave?**

"I dunno" Luke shrugged "A month, maybe a bit longer." He looked worried "You...you will come to Pueltown to see us off, won't you?" Kellyn smiled.

**Of course, I would never let my best friend leave without a proper goodbye.**

"Best friend huh?" Luke asked "Does that mean we're still buds?" He clenched a friendly fist. Kellyn nodded, cupping his opposite hand. Luke's fist pressed itself into Kellyn's palm, something they made up when they were kids. A symbol of friendship.

"Promise never to forget me, silent child" Luke smiled. Kellyn smiled back.

**It's a promise I will never forget.**


	3. First Test

****"You would be like this too, in my situation!"****

****"What's wrong, cat got ya tongue?"****

* * *

><p><strong><span><strong>Protector of Silence<strong>**

****Chapter Three – First Test****

Kellyn woke the next morning with one thought: something different about today. He looked over at the door and saw something: a suitcase. And on top of it, was a blue slip of paper...an entrance pass.

'__It's today__!' he thought, his blue-green eyes flashing open with excitement '__Today's the first day of Ranger School__!'

He was out of bed in an instant. He looked around, checking he had packed all of his things. Then he realised he'd forgotten something. On top of the bookshelf. That was where he kept his locket. He'd been wearing it when Lunick had given him to his father before the ex-ranger died beside him. A golden locket with two pictures in it: one of a dark-haired boy with aqua eyes, another of a blue-haired girl with red eyes. These were Lunick and Solana respectively: the locket given to him to make sure he never forgot them the same night Lunick delivered him to the farm. He would never dream of leaving it behind.

He stood on his tiptoes, reaching for the locket at full arm's length. No use, why was he so short? The only reason he could look anywhere near Luke's height was because of the single lock of hair that spiked up on top of his head anime-style and refused to lie flat. He jumped up and his fingers clipped it, but that only proceeded to push the locket even further from reach. In the process of this, Kellyn silently yelped as his toe caught the edge of the bookshelf.

"Kellyn! Melissa! Breakfast!" a voice called from downstairs.

"Coming!" his little sister called from the room next door. He heard the door next to his slam shut and someone running down the stairs.

Kellyn growled with annoyance, blinked and let his eyes turn that blue-white colour that gave away his psychic gift. The locket flew down from the top of the bookshelf and into his hand.

"Kellyn! I've made pancakes!"

Kellyn beamed, pancakes. Well, figured; after all he was leaving today. He heard a knock at the door and he opened it. Standing in the doorway, grinning, was a girl with long curly blonde hair, about eight-years-old and had dark blue eyes. He gave off the grunt that everyone had learnt meant a single word: Melissa.

"I don't know whether your deaf as well as mute, but Mum wants you to come down for breakfast." Kellyn rolled his eyes and gave her a 'Alright, I'll be down in a minute!' look. She left to head downstairs. Kellyn turned to slip a notebook and pencil into the pocket of his blue shorts he had just changed into before rushing after his little 'sister'.

* * *

><p>"C'mon Gira!" The girl gripped the small giraffe's mane and urged it on "We have to find him before he reaches the school!" The Girafferig neighed, showing it's rider its cute face before leaping into a gallop. Up ahead, a young boy with chestnut-brown hair was walking down the wooded path with a long-strapped suitcase over his shoulder.<p>

"Kellyn!" she yelled, waving one arm in the air as her ginger hair bounced to the rhythm of Gira's gait "KELLYN!"

Two blue-green eyes locked onto her, a pair of white pupils dilating. He mouthed her name: "Clio."

The girl named Clio slowed Gira down to a walk beside her friend.

"Leaving without saying goodbye?" she smiled. Kellyn gave a shake of his head, and wrote her a message.

****I'm not really fond of goodbyes.****

"You never were" Clio smiled "I wouldn't have known you were leaving, but Luke spilled it all out under pressure."

Kellyn shook his head and gave out a high-pitched sigh that sounded unusual for a boy his age. Typical Luke, and typical Clio! No doubt she got Houndour to help her out with the interrogation.

****You shouldn't bother. You're going to be visiting Kanto soon, aren't you?****

"Yeah, but I could be back for Christmas" Clio answered "Still, a simple goodbye would suffice."

****Well, goodbye then.****

Clio smiled and laughed at the message. Kellyn sighed again. Out of the few friends he had made, he was going to miss two the most: Luke and Clio. He wasn't sure why, but he had found a deep friendship in the excitable green-eyed ginger in front of him. Not a romance relationship or anything like that, just very good friends.

"_**_**Clio will miss you greatly**_**_" Gira looked at him "_**_**She almost died on the spot when she discovered you were leaving today.**_**_"

Kellyn nodded. He hadn't been sure when he had started communicating with Pokémon. Maybe he had since birth, or maybe an event had kicked it off. Either way, he found their conversations quite interesting, especially since he could mentally talk back. One of the few perks of being a psychic being.

'__I know__' he said mentally '__I will miss her too__.'

They were now approaching the bridge that crossed to the small island east of Vientown that was Ranger School.

"Well I guess I should go" Clio sighed "You know, find the others."

****See you around Clio.****

Clio read the message before wheeling Gira around.

"Catch ya later Kellyn" she smiled, before clicking her tongue and galloping towards the west. Kellyn watched her leave before turning to the bridge.

* * *

><p>'<em><em>This must be it.<em>_'

Kellyn turned and looked at the metal arch before him. It was in an arch shape and looked very solid, the only way past the school wall. Kellyn grasped the bars of the gates and tried to pull them open. No avail. Then he tried pushing them. Zero, nothing, zilch. He gave the gates a rough kick.

"_**_**Temper, temper.**_**_"

Kellyn looked over his shoulder and saw a little blue and white squirrel, a Pacharisu, at the base of a tree, looking at him with fiery yellow eyes.

'__You would be like this too, in my situation__' Kellyn thought, grunting.

The Pacharisu got the message and disappeared up the tree. Kellyn re-diverted his attention to the gates. He gave them one last yank before letting his eyes rolling to their unnatural colour. Automatically the gates swung open slightly. He stepped forwards, pushed one of the gates open wide enough for him to get through and walked up the steps set into a cliff. At the top of the steps was a female teacher with deep red hair.

"Good morning" she smiled "Are you the new student starting today?"

Kellyn nodded and opened his notebook to deliver a message.

****Yes, my name is Kellyn. It is nice to meet you.****

"Kellyn" the teacher smiled "Well, it's nice to see there are students with manners, unlike some..." She grimaced at the thought of what appeared to be a certain student bugging her. Then she smiled again "My name is Miss April, please follow me Kellyn..." She looked a little confused and slightly embarrassed. "I apologise, I don't believe you told me your surname."

Surname? He bit his lip. He didn't have a surname. He could always use his foster parents' name, but it didn't seem right. He paused for a second, then had an idea. He wrote it down and showed it to Miss April. He smiled at his own creativity.

****My name is Kellyn Solluna.****

* * *

><p>"Well Kellyn" Miss April led him into what appeared to be a side barn, but looked more like a lab or something "As you know, Pokémon Rangers don't use Pokeballs. They use capture stylers to temporarily capture wild Pokémon."<p>

Kellyn nodded, he knew _that_. Standing in the middle of the floor, a Pikachu was sniffing the ground.

"Well then," Miss April handed him what appeared to be a red metal armband with a blue diamond-shaped spinning-top on top of it "Let's see how you cope capturing this small Pokémon, the standard Pikachu."

Kellyn nodded, slipping the armband onto his arm. He aimed it as the Pikachu. Unbeknownst to him, his eyes flashed blue-white, almost with anticipation.

'__Let's go__!' he thought, smiling with pleasure '__Capture...on__!'

The little spinning-top disc detached itself from his armband. It whizzed towards the little yellow squirrel that was Pikachu. Kellyn pointed his armband to the right, the spinning top went right. He pointed to the left and it went left. He smiled and redirected it to the Pikachu. The spinning top began making light-blue circles around the Pikachu. After about four of five loops, the circle closed in and seemed to be absorbed by the Pikachu. Its eyes took on a new glint as it chanted its name. He paused and turned a small red nob on the metal armband. The Pikachu's eyes lost their glint and it trotted over to a man in a lab coat.

"Well done" he smiled in a some-what evil voice "You have passed the test to enter the Team School! Together we shall stand together, rule the world and...!"

"Mr Kaplan!" Miss April gave the man a disapproving glance.

"Oh, way to ruin the mojo Miss A!" the man complained "Oh fine! Forget the ruling the world thing! Just, welcome to the academy!"

Miss April smiled at the correction. She looked down at Kellyn.

"Less than ten seconds" she commented "Impressive. You're a natural."

Kellyn gave her a thank you smile. With his parents both farmers and a sister so far uninterested in anything that wasn't cute and pink, complements on any ranger abilities were scare between.

"Well, you can bring your bag with you" Miss April said "Let's introduce you to the class."

They exited the side-barn and walked towards a round area of grass that might be a square. They then walked to the left towards the door of a large building, Kellyn examining his styler the entire time.

"You appear to like it" Miss April commented. Kellyn nodded eagerly. "I see" she pursed her lips in thought. "You don't speak."

Kellyn felt all the excitement wash off him. He hung his head and shook it, giving a small sigh.

"Well, I doubt it will matter" Miss April smiled "It appears you have no trouble communicating your thoughts, and there certainly nothing saying a mute cannot be a ranger." She opened the door which lead into a courtyard. There were two doors jutting out on the left and right half-way up, and at the far end were two more doors, plus two sets of stairs leading either up or down.

"Your dorms are upstairs" Miss April explained "You'll be sharing with five other boys, two in my class, and three in Mr Kincaid's. His classroom is to the right." She pointed at the right jutting out at the right. She led him to the other door "However, your classroom will be this one." She opened the door. Kellyn stayed in the door as she walked in fort of a desk with a blackboard behind it. The class room was small, but long. Maybe it was because there were only six desks in it. Three girls were in a line on the left, then there was a small gap down the middle and three desks on the right. Two had boys behind them, but the one closest to the walkway was empty.

"Everyone" Miss April said, getting their attention.

"This better be good" a ginger-haired boy grumbled. From the back, it appeared his hair was styled in hair-gels spikes.

"Yeah, it's a Friday!" yawned a black-haired boy next to him "And like 8:00 in the morning!"

"I know and I apologise for having to class you up like this" Miss April sighed "But I had to inform you that as of today we'll be getting a new student." Immediately everyone started whispering in excitement.

"A new student!" a girl with blonde hair on the end of the their line whispered "I hope it's a girl!"

"It's plainly a boy Rhythmi!" the ginger boy snorted "The desk is on our side of the class!"

Kellyn decided to remain in the doorway, they didn't appear to have noticed him. They were to busy bickering. Well, except for one person. A girl on the far end of the girls' line. She had light-ginger hair with pale blue eyes. She looked like she could be sociable if she wanted to, but judging by the way Rhythmi and the brunette next to her were talking she looked a little shy. She gave him a wink before staring back at the front of the class again. She appeared to have been the only one to notice him, but he still ducked behind the door in case anyone else tried to see where she was winking.

"Everyone! Please!" Miss April got their attention "I think it would be best if we let him introduce himself." She beckoned for Kellyn to come in. Immediately the creaking of chairs signified everyone, and I mean everyone, was turning around to look at him. Kellyn paled - he hated being stared at like this. I mean, who did? Those questioning stares that just wanted to know your every little secret and throw them to the world.

"Come on, don't be shy" Miss April coaxed him. Don't be shy? What? Oh, fine. Better get this over with.

'__Luke would be laughing his socks off right now__' he thought. Taking a deep breath, he tried to ignore the stares as he walked stiffly up to the blackboard. Picking up a piece of chalk, he did the only reasonable thing he could do. With the squeaking of white rock on blackboard, he wrote something.

****KELLYN****

"Kellyn" the blonde girl called Rhythmi read "Is that your name?"

Kellyn nodded in response.

"What's wrong, cat got ya tongue?" asked the ginger-haired boy.

"Keith!" Miss April immediately cut in. Kellyn though just shrugged and nodded. They were going to have to find out sooner or later.

"Ah" Keith simply said, folding his arms on his desk and placing his chin on top of those arms "I take it you're the mystery person who'll be taking the top bunk."

"Stop moaning Keith" the black-haired boy put in, and Kellyn was glad for some sort of back-up, even if he didn't know who this boy was. "You're scared of heights, that's why you were assigned a bottom bunk."

"Argh, stuff it Ponte!" Keith grumbled.

"No you stuff it!" Ponte complained right back.

"You stuff it!" Keith didn't look happy at being told what to do as he sat up and glared. Ponte did too.

"You stuff it!"

"You stuff it!"

"You stuff—!"

"Keith! Ponte! Stop it!" Miss April snapped "Introduce yourself to Kellyn!"

Ponte rolled his eyes. "He already knows our names. Thanks to Muppet here."

"You're the muppet!" Keith snapped.

"No you are!" Ponte complained.

"No you are!" Keith complained back.

"Stop arguing with me!" Ponte growled.

"No you stop it!" Keith complained.

"You stop it!"

"You stop it!"

"Both of you stop it!" the blonde-haired girl with the blue eyes called Rhythmi chipped in "You're hardly setting a good example!" She growled, then smiling at Kellyn "Hello there! My name is Rhythmi. I'm class representative!"

"She forgot to mention she was the only one who ran for it" the brunette next to her smiled "My name is Sami. Don't get on my bad side."

Secretly making a note not to do just that, Kellyn looked at the ginger on the end of the line - the one who had first noticed him. She had her chin in her palm, her elbow resting on the desk, staring off into space. Sami elbowed her. She gave a brief smile to Kellyn before staring into space again.

"Kate" Sami put in "That's Kate."

'_Proud ___and silent huh__?' Kellyn thought '__Kinda like me. Well, not like I have a choice.__'

"Well, now you stammered through a hello" Miss April sighed with relief "Boys, take Kellyn up to your dorm. And...try not to kill each other before then."

Keith shot her a cheeky smile. "No need to worry Miss A! Kel's perfectly safe with us!"


	4. Bidoof Race

**"There's a real life ranger coming! Can you believe it?!"**

**"So, I guess this makes the four of us friends, huh."**

* * *

><p><strong><span><strong>Protector of Silence<strong>**

****Chapter Four – Bidoof Race****

They left the classroom after a brief meeting and headed up the upwards set of stairs. At the top was a sort of common room-type area with two doors: one pink and one blue. On top of the door on the left was a bronze plaque with the words 'Girls' dorm' and on the right was 'Boys' dorm'. Near the blue door was a large white machine.

"See that" Keith pointed at it "You put your styler in it, it charges it up."

Kellyn nodded to show he wasn't deaf and was indeed listening to everything Keith was saying...or ranting really - guy hadn't stopped talking since they left the classroom. But now they were away from Miss April, the boys were taking advantage to gather around Kellyn and begin interrogating. Plus, two more boys had suddenly appeared and started asking questions too.

This was just not Kellyn's day, was it?

"Hey new student" said the boy called Ponte "Um...sorry, I can't remember your name. How long did it take for you to capture the Pikachu? Like an hour?"

"Whatever it was, it was definitely better than Nick" a boy with blond hair patted a brunet on to back "It took him like...three hours!"

"Well at least I got a decent mark on the written test Liam!" the brunet called Nick complained.

"Miss April said something about him being better than me" Keith grinned "Well, that's gonna be, like, impossible! It only took me, like, twenty seconds!"

"Yeah, Keith's a record keeper when it comes to capturing, too bad he goes and sleeps through class and fails all written exams though." Kellyn looked through the crowd and saw another blond-hair boy, this one had hair that grew down just beyond his ears, at the back of the crowd, carrying a stack of hooks under his arm.

"Oh, hi Isaac!" Keith smiled "Decided to step into the sunshine for once?"

"You're not funny" stated the boy called Isaac, a completely serious and disapproving expression on his face, before then heading down the steps. "By the way, New Kid, don't spent too much time listening to Keith, he's a show-off in the extremes."

"His name is Kel!" Keith called after the boy, his voice ringing with frustration. But Kellyn could tell it was about the show-off remark rather than not knowing his name. He wrote something in his notebook and showed it to the other boys.

****My name is Kellyn for those of you who don't know. And is that boy one of my roommates?****

"Yeah, we all bunk together" Ponte groaned, although the answer to why was a little beyond what Kellyn could understand.

"Ponte's just upset because he has to share a bunk with Isaac" Nick smiled "He hardly sees him though. He's always either in his classroom or the library—"

"Otherwise known as Keith's nap room" Liam finished for him with a grin.

"Ha ha! Very funny!" Keith snorted, not taking the teasing that well "Come on, poor kid's carrying luggage! Are we going to make him carry it all day or can we actually show him the dorm?"

"Ah, the dorm" Ponte smiled, opening the door "Inside, if you please."

The dorm was reasonably spacious. There were two windows, three bunks and a blue rug in the middle. In fact, everything in there was blue. Kellyn didn't mind, but he preferred green or red to blue. But he could get used to it.

"That's Ponte and Isaac's bunk over there" Keith pointed at the bunk to the right "Ponte's on the top bunk of course. Then there's Nick and Liam's bunk, Nick on top bunk." Keith pointed at the bunk to the left "And the one is ours. You've got top bunk, I'm not all that good with heights."

Kellyn smiled. He liked being in high places. He placed his suitcase at the base of the ladder when they heard a bell ring from somewhere above their heads.

"The bell!" Liam cheered "Alright, outdoors time! Who's up for football?" Immediately he, Ponte and Nick began discussing teams.

"You guys mind just practising for a bit?" Keith asked "I think Miss April wants me to show Kel the grounds."

"Alright, but do hurry" Nick sighed "We don't have enough members for teams otherwise!"

"Verity will probably join in" Keith smiled "Or Becs or Tamie. They're feisty enough for it. Alright, come on Kel." He seized Kellyn's wrist "We're going outside!"

* * *

><p>Keith proceeded to drag Kellyn all the way to the outdoor side-barn where he had captured the Pikachu.<p>

"That's the training room" Keith explained "That's where Mr Kaplan plays with computers whilst laughing manically - boy he's almost as good as Mr Kincaid at that - and comes up with speeches to tell the new students about his plans to rule the world; when he's not actually doing his job of showing students how to use stylers that is. Poor Mrs Claire having to share a training room with him - but they're married so she must be pretty used to it by now."

He then pointed at an identical side-barn to the right of the school. "That's the lunch hall. Beyond that there's a few steps up to the clearing: everyone likes to play football up there. But over there..." He pointed at some steps leading down a cliff "At the bottom of those steps is the Ascension Square. We go down there once a month. There's a monument to gather around, which we do on Outdoor Class Days. The next one is in three weeks. And there's a real life ranger coming! Can you believe it?!"

Kellyn didn't want to ruin Keith's fun so gave a fake silent gasp of amazement to satisfy him.

"H-Help!" Both boys turned and saw someone who might be a caretaker in the middle of the grass in the middle of a circle of path, surrounding by seven Bidoof. "N-Nice Bidoof! Now, back into the training room!" Then she yelled: "Kaplan! How many times must I tell you to keep your Pokémon under control!"

"Looks like Janice is in trouble again" Keith commented, looking like this happened a lot.

"Ah! What's going on?!" The blonde-haired girl Kellyn remembered was called Rhythmi from their class emerged from the school door and arrived at the scene of the crime just as they did.

"Kaplan's Bidoof have escaped!" Janice squeaked. Kellyn showed Rhythmi and Keith what he'd just wrote.

****If the three of us work together, we should be able to capture them.****

"Oh, actually Kellyn, I don't have a styler" Rhythmi explained, reading his message "I'm training to become an operator. That why when Keith becomes a ranger I can boss him about." She sounded smug.

"Yeah, whatever, make yourself un-useful!" Keith snorted "Hey Kel, since it's just the two of us, let's have a race! See who can catch the most Bidoof!"

"Can't you at least make the effort to learn to say our new classmate's name correctly?!" complained Rhythmi "Oh fine! Have your silly little race! Like I care! Just hurry up with it so poor Kellyn doesn't have to spend all day listening to your bad influences!"

"Me, bad influences?!" Keith complained in mock shock "Alright, we'll be quick. Ready Kel?" Rhythmi rolled her eyes in exasperation and Kellyn nodded. "Three, two, one...GO!"

Kellyn barely remembered the next minute. It was all a blur of whizzing lights and Bidoof noises. Finally Kellyn noticed all the Bidoof had been rounded up. At Kellyn's feet were three Bidoof, at Keith's four.

"Ha! I win!" Keith cheered. He somersaulted into the air and performed his own ranger pose.

'__I'll have to think of one of my own at some point__' Kellyn thought. Rhythmi groaned and Kellyn raised an eyebrow.

"If there's one thing I can't stand more than Keith" she explained "It's a smug Keith." Sure enough, Keith was now putting together his own victory dance. It had a song too, but it sounded suspiciously like 'We are the champions' but replaced with 'I am the champion' and very out-of-key.

"...Five, six, seven" Janice counted "But I was sure there were nine."

"Um...are you looking for these two?"

They all looked towards the entrance gates. Walking up the steps with two Bidoof at her heels was the ginger girl with the spiky pigtails from earlier.

"Oh, hi Kate!" smiled Rhythmi "So, you caught the other Bidoof?"

"Yeah" Kate nodded "They were walking around looking lost at the gates, and you know how much I like to sit on the wall and read. So I captured them and I heard Keith yelling 'I'm a champion' or something so I came up here to see what all the ruckus was about."

"Well, I better take these Bidoof back to Kaplan" sighed Janice "Oh is he going to get an earful about this!" And indeed it truly looked like he was going to, if the expression on Janice's face was anything to go by.

As Janice led the Bidoof away, the other four meet in the middle of the grass circle.

"I won! I won! Oh yeah, yeah, yeah!" Keith was still singing to himself. "Oh, by the way Kel, I was surprised by how well you did. You never know, you might actually put up a decent fight for class champion. I might have some actual competition this year."

"So I don't qualify as competition?" Kate folded her arms, her spiky pigtails making her look even more intimidating. "Even though I had a quarter of the time to capture half the amount of Bidoof."

Keith sweat-dropped. "Alright, maybe I have two competitors!" he said quickly, then regaining his over-confidence. "But it makes no difference! Bring on one competitor, two, or a thousand! I, Keith, the world's soon-to-be Top of the Top Rangers, will not be beaten! No ser-ree!"

"Oh Keith!" Rhythmi was exasperated again "I was looking for you guys anyway. Miss April wanted me to give Kellyn this." She held out a green jumper with a yellow tie "Your Ranger School uniform."

Kellyn's eyes widened as he took the jumper and tie from her. He removed the black fleece he'd been wearing and slipped the school-issued jumper on. He hung the tie with his fleece over his arm - he'd figure out how to put it on later.

"It's official, you're one of us now" Kate smiled friendlily.

"Hey, er, Kel" Keith was frowning slightly "Is...er...something wrong with your eyes?" Said eyes widened as Kellyn panicked. Had his eyes changed colour again? Oh no, he hadn't been planning on exposing these eyes and their powers here at Ranger School!

"Keith!" Rhythmi cried "Don't tease him because his pupils are white! He can't help what the colour of his pupils are! And learn his name properly!" Kellyn gave a mental sigh or relief. They were only referring to his regular eye-colour.

"I like them" said Kate quietly "They suit him."

Kellyn sent her a '__thank you__' smile.

"So that's like your natural eye colour?" When Kellyn nodded to his question, Keith beamed "That's so cool! You are most defiantly my bunk-mate!" He looped an arm around Kellyn's shoulders. The slightly shorter boy flinched at this action, but Keith's smile reassured him he wasn't going to strangle him or anything.

"So, I guess this makes the four of us friends, huh?" smiled Rhythmi.

"Hey, forget about making friends with Rhythmi here!" Keith put in quickly "You wanna be friends with me! Got it!"

They all laughed, even Rhythmi. Kellyn even opened his mouth in silent laughter.

'__Luke may be right, I may be able to make friends__' he thought '__It's nice...It's nice to be accepted...finally__.'


	5. Night Stalker

**"As I said, simple."**

**"Man, I always wanted to toilet-paper this place."**

* * *

><p><strong><span><strong>Protector of Silence<strong>**

****Chapter Five – Night Stalker****

Moonlight shone through the curtains into Kellyn's eyes. But that wasn't what woke him. It was Keith, poking his arm which was hanging off the edge of the bunk-bed. Kellyn wasn't an easy one to annoy, to he just pretended to still be asleep and let Keith carry on with his restless poking.

"Kel! Kel! Come on! Wake up Kel!" the ginger growled in a sort-of whisper "Kellyn! Come on! Up and at it! Rise and shine!"

'__It's the middle of the night__!' Kellyn groaned inwardly.

"Come on! Move it!"

That was it! He couldn't take any more of this! He grabbed some item and chucked it over the edge of the bed. He heard a yelp as it made contact with Keith's forehead.

"Owwww!" he complained "That's it! I know you're awake now so you've got to get up!"

Kellyn groaned and sat up, complying with what Keith said. Only way to keep the peace around here. He slipped on his school jumper and placed his notebook and pencil in one pocket of his pyjamas bottoms, a torch in the other. Nothing was worse than writing a message and no one being able to read it. He then climbed down the ladder and allowed himself to be dragged by Keith outside into the common room. The big lamp was the only light on and in the light of it Kellyn made out three people: Rhythmi, Kate and buff black-haired girl who he had learnt earlier was called Rebecca, although she preferred to be called Becs.

"You kept us waiting long enough Dazaru" Becs growled, referring to Keith by his last name.

"Zip it Jackson!" Keith used the same surname method of addressing his opposer. "It's not my fault that Kel here could sleep through a hurricane ripping the school apart!"

'__Could not__!' Kellyn wanted to counter and give Keith a piece of his mind. But as he tried to speak he felt his throat tighten to the point he couldn't breathe and gave up. Nothing had changed there then.

"Enough!" Rhythmi sighed "Let's get on with our test of courage and bravery to welcome Kellyn."

'__Test of bravery and courage__?' Kellyn wondered, his white pupils dilating '__If it's anything like Clio's bravery test, I refuse to jump into the sea in a bikini__!' He shuddered as he remembered what the green-eyed girl had make Luke do. But it was either that or wear a chicken hat in public for the next month.

Since he couldn't ask or protest, he did the only thing he could do to get their attention: cock his head it the side in a confused manner and give what Melissa had dubbed his 'Confused Squeak'.

"Sssssh! Keep it down!" all the others hissed. That just made him even more confused. Why were they whispering?

"Shut up, pipsqueak!" Becs hissed "We're all here for your sake anyhow!"

Pipsqueak?! What was next, mouse jokes? He gave another squeak, this one of protest. Once again he was shushed.

"Don't mind Becs, she's not exactly an early riser" Keith sighed to his roommate "We just want you to prove you're brave. I've had to do it before. It's no big deal."

'__Yes, but we have different idea of what a big deal is__' Kellyn thought.

"And nothing against you Kellyn, but you have that easily-spooked look on you" Keith added "No offence or anything. Oh don't give me that look! I was just teasing! We just need to be sure!"

'__You could have at least let me get dressed__' Kellyn though bitterly '__It's freezing out there, and I know you'll make me go outside! You have that gleam in your eyes, the same as Clio's__!'

"Don't tease him Keith" Rhythmi sighed "Okay, Agent Solluna. That is your last name isn't it? Good, that's confirmed. Anyway, here's your mission. The four of us have hidden our stylers in a room in the school. All you have to do is find them and out them at the top of the steps to the basement. And to make sure you don't cheat, Keith's going with you."

"Whatever difference that'll make" Becs muttered. Kate elbowed her and gave her a look that pleaded for her to say no more.

"As I said, simple" Rhythmi concluded, dismissing although agreeing with Becs' comment "So, off you go."

'__Oh fine__' Kellyn thought, rolling his eyes a bit '__Either this or look like a wuss for the rest of the year. Just a little scavenger hunt, what could possibly go wrong__?'

* * *

><p>Outside the lights were dimly lit up and down the courtyard. Clouds covered the sky now so not a single star could shine down upon the concrete. Everything seemed so silent, it was almost freaky. There came the sound of wings flapping.<p>

"WAAAAHHHH!" Keith screamed, hiding behind Kellyn - which was fairly hard to do considering how diminutive the brunet was. "W-What was that?!"

Kellyn removed his torch from his pocket and pointed it at the centre of the courtyard. A startled Starly took flight.

"Oh...just a Starly" Keith gave a sigh of relief, stepping out from behind the shorter boy. "But it spooked me. You were spooked too, right?" Kellyn raised his eyebrows and shook his head. Keith looked a bit embarrassed and a little frustrated. "Er...so...where first?"

Kellyn held his torch under his chin as he wrote down the answer and showed it to Keith in the torchlight.

****The classrooms maybe?****

"Yeah, sure" Keith shrugged "We'll start with ours."

They headed across the courtyard to their own classroom. The lights refused to come on so they had to go by torchlight. There were three large crates in the classroom.

"Even our own classroom looks creepy" Keith gulped, shaking his head to remove it of any scared thoughts. "Okay, I'll tell you it's Becs' styler we're looking for."

'__Well, Becs is a tough girl__' thought Kellyn '__Has great physical strength... Wait a minute. Physical strength__!' He motioned with his hand for Keith to stay, handing him his torch before disappearing out the door. He reappeared about a minute later, rubbing his styler with a Bidoof at his heels.

"Where'd you find that?" Keith asked.

****Roaming around. One of Kaplan's?****

"Yeah probably" Keith nodded, handing the torch back "So, what are you planning on doing with it?"

'__Target clear__!' Kellyn turned to face one of the crates and told the Bidoof it's order mentally. '__Bidoof - Crush__!'

"_**_**On it**_**__**!**_" The Bidoof's head blazed with blue and white light as it smashed the crate into pieces. In the midst of the rumble, Becs' styler glinted in the torchlight.

'__Thank you Bidoof__' he smiled, turning the knob on his Capture Styler and letting the Bidoof leave. He picked up the styler and showed it to Keith.

"One down, three to go" Keith smiled "The staff room next?"

With Kellyn's consenting nod, they crept across to the staff room where a frightened Pichu was running around aimlessly.

"The staff room" said Keith, his brown eyes dancing nervously in the dim light "Clue for this room: Kate's styler."

'__Kate__' Kellyn thought '__Where would Kate hide a styler__?' He looked at the scared Pichu '__Ah ha__! __That's it__! __The way Kate treated those Bidoof, it's obvious she really likes Pokémon__! __So she would hide her styler on a Pokémon__!' He allowed the antenna on his styler to materialise. His eyes converted to their psychic blue-white colour, ghostly and pale in the darkness of the staff room.

'__Capture...on__!' The capture disk flew towards the scared Pichu and began making circles of light. The Pichu only took about two circles for it to be captured.

'__Capture complete__' Kellyn smiled, walking over to the shaking Pichu. '__Hello there__.' He saw the Pichu was clutching a styler with both paws. '__Do you mind if I borrow that styler__?'

"_**_**Oh...t-this**_**_?" the Pichu stuttered "_**_**Oh...o-okay then...**_**_" It handed him the styler and he patted it's head, making it smile slightly. He showed Keith the styler as he walked over, but the ginger-haired wanna-be ranger was staring at him queerly. Kellyn gave him the classic 'What?' look.

"Oh, nothing" Keith mumbled "It's just...I thought I..." He shook his head. "Never mind. Let's go to Mr Kincaid's classroom."

* * *

><p>Kincaid's classroom was just about the same as theirs, minus the crates.<p>

"Okay, this clue" Keith began, then he stopped and beamed "Man, I always wanted to toilet-paper this place. Argh...no! Stop thinking about pranks Keith! Huh?... Did I say that out loud? Never mind, here's the clue: Rhythmi's styler."

'__Rhythmi's styler__' Kellyn folded his arms and thought '__Well, that's obvious.__' He walked over to Kincaid's desk, opened the only book on it and removed the styler from the core of it.

"So quick?" Keith complained "How did you know it was there?"

****She's obvious: a bookworm.****

"That obvious?" Keith asked, he sighed "I guess. Well, only one left. The library." The crossed to the final room in the north-west of the courtyard. The library lights worked, but they were so dim they were near useless. But Kellyn could see the styler: hanging on a string dangling from the ceiling.

'__Oh great, trust Keith to make me do a Flying Angel or something__!' he thought '__How'd he get it up there anyway__?' He walked under the styler and tried to jump up and catch it. He missed. He did an half-turn mid-jump and his fingers clipped it. Finally, he lost his patience. His eyes turned blue-white and the string automatically snapped, the styler falling into Kellyn's hand. But although he grinned at Keith, the other boy's eyes were wide with shock.

'__Oh Great Arceus__! __He saw that__!' Was the only thought pounding through Kellyn's head. Keith marched over to Kellyn and stared deep into his now blue-green eyes, as if determined to get them to change colour again.

"I knew it" he muttered. Kellyn's heart sank like a stone.

****You knew I was a psychic being?****

"I was actually going to say I knew your eyes changed colour" Keith corrected him "I saw it twice: first when you were capturing those Bidoof. Again when you captured that Pichu. And then it happened again now. I think I'm the only one who's noticed it though." He noticed Kellyn's worried face. "Hey, don't worry, I won't tell anyone. It'll be great blackmail for the witting of the next test notes! Anyway, so they're to do with psychic powers?" Kellyn shrugged.

****I think so. My brother had them, I think.****

"Your brother?" Keith asked "I thought you only had a sister?" Kellyn shook his head and before his brain caught up what his hand was doing he wrote:

****I have an older brother, older sister and a younger foster sister.****

As Keith looked baffled, he quickly added:

****Long story.****

"Okay" Keith shrugged "You passed your test, that's what matters. Let's put these stylers at the top of the basement stairs then."

* * *

><p>Kellyn had just put down the stylers on the very top step when they heard a loud bang from downstairs.<p>

"What was that?" Keith asked, sounding spooked. Kellyn stood up and began to walk down the steps "Huh? Kel! Don't go down there! There could be ghosts... Er...I mean ghost Pokémon! Yes; ghost-type Pokémon!" Kellyn ignored him, not stopping his descent. "Wait for me!"

The corridor was light enough for Kellyn to make out a few Ghastlys hanging around, but not light enough for him to see the big wooden signpost before he banged into it. He let out a yelp just as Keith caught up to him.

"Huh? A barrier?" Keith shone the torch on a row of crates and signposts in a line across the corridor "Who put this up here?"

Kellyn shrugged, then noticed a Zubat flying around. His styler's antenna materialised.

'__Capture...on__!' The capture disk flew towards it's target.

'__Capture complete__! __Zubat - Cut__!' The Zubat sent a whirlwind to knock down the signpost before flying off '__Thank you__!'

They progressed around a corner until they reached a door slightly ajar with light streaming out of it.

"D-do we have to look inside?" Keith stuttered in a whisper. Kellyn nodded. "Oh! Well...hustle then! I can't take much more of this!"

Without warning, two Ghastlys materialised in front of them, not looking happy at their territory being disturbed.

"BWAAAAH!" Keith fled back around the corner. Kellyn was about to reach for his styler when he clenched his hair in pain. It was like his head was burning.

'__What is this__?' he thought, his eyes lapsing from blue-green to blue-white again '_A new psychic power_?" He took a step backwards and the Ghastlys blinked. It was like they couldn't see him as the burning sensation stopped massacring his brain. They appeared to look straight through him! He looked down at his hands and saw they weren't there anymore.

'__Am I...invisible__?' He looked at the plainly confused Ghastlys as the dematerialised. He then froze as the door opened. A blond-haired teacher with blue eye and way too much hair gel appeared.

'__Is that...Mr Kincaid__?' Kellyn pondered. The man snorted, looking straight through a stiffened Kellyn.

"Nothing" he told someone "Probably just a Ghastly."

"Oh...good" a different voice said.

'__No it can't be__!' Kellyn silently gasped.

"Was the experiment a success?" Mr Kincaid asked.

"It's impossible to say yet. The computer systems aren't complete. But it's only a matter of adjustment now."

"Good" Mr Kincaid said "I counting on you, you known that."

"Yes sir."

Unable to take it any more, Kellyn raced around the corner and up the stairs. One thought dominated his head.

'__That second voice...I'm sure of it... It was Isaac's__!'

* * *

><p>Keith was, predictably, fretting at the top of the stairs. When he saw Kellyn return, he gave a sigh of relief.<p>

"Kel! Oh thank Arceus!" he panted like he'd run a marathon "I was worried you'd been eaten by the Ghastlys! I was about to go searching for you!"

'__Yeah, sure you were__' Kellyn thought. He tried to think positive as he wrote something down.

****Does this mean I pass the bravery test?****

"Oh boy, does it ever!" Keith puffed "Come on, I'll kill Rhythmi of she dares give us anything less than an A*!" As they headed up the stairs, Kellyn wondered if he should tell Keith about the voices he heard. He decided against it - no need to worry his friend any more than necessary.


	6. Ranger Visit

**"Does that mean we can talk in detention now?"**

**"He is far too pumped for an occasion like this."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Six – Ranger Visit**

Three things had happened in three weeks Kellyn had spent at Ranger School.

1. He learnt how to tie a, well, tie.

2. He faced Keith in at least four more 'competitions' of strength.

3. He was almost certain he had gone deaf. Keith was like a continuously blaring foghorn! And I mean continuous - they shared a room after all. He wondered how Ponte and the others hadn't gone deaf at all last year. After all, compared to all the others Kellyn was a late starter.

Today they were just finishing relearning about target clears. Keith, predictably, was sprawled over his textbook and snoring, fast asleep. In contrast, on Kellyn's other side, Rhythmi was sat up so straight Kellyn was surprised her spine didn't break. Ponte and Sami also looked like they were paying attention...a bit. Kate was in one of those day-dreaming periods where she would stare at a random corner of the classroom for long periods of time. Miss April was writing on the blackboard when she suddenly turned around and walked towards the class.

'_Uh oh, Keith's in trouble_' was the first thought to come to Kellyn and he elbowed the ginger ranger-wanna-be next to him. Keith didn't even stir, just proceeded to drool over his textbook.

"Keith Dazaru!" Keith startled awake at the sound of Miss April's voice particularly loud voice. Kellyn braced himself for the whirling of detentions to go out to the dozey boy, but Miss April then diverted her attention to Kate. "Kate Hitomi. Would you be kind enough to join us for this announcement?"

The announcement must have gotten through to Kate because she turned her head and smiled warmly at Miss April. Thank Arceus she was good at smiles, it was probably the only thing that kept her out of detentions. Keith needs to learn to love the sweet smiles.

"Class" Miss April finally addressed them all "I have a question. What day is today?"

Kellyn cocked his head to one side. What day was it? The simply answer would be Wednesday 4th October, but he had a feeling that wasn't what Miss April was getting at. Sami and Ponte knew though.

"Outdoor Class!" they both beamed.

'_Oh yeah, Keith said something about there being an Outdoor Class this week when I first arrived. Something special was supposed to be happening today, that much I remember_' Kellyn thought.

"Oh yes!" Keith's smile stretched all the way to Kanto "It today! We're going to meet an actual ranger today! I've already thought of like 38 questions to ask them!"

"Oh don't Keith!" Rhythmi groaned "That poor ranger has better things to do than listen to you rambling on and asking personal questions!"

"Whoever said they were personal?" Keith frowned.

"They always are!" answered Rhythmi.

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

Kellyn leant back as Rhythmi and Keith fumed across his desk.

'_Yikes, they're like an old married couple_!' was the only thought circling around Kellyn's head.

"Excuse me, Rhythmi, Keith" Miss April cleared her throat "Would you two like to pipe down or would you prefer to discuss this in detention this evening?"

"Wait" Keith's mouth was faster than his brain "Does that mean we can talk in detention now?"

"Keith Dazaru. I'd like you to stay behind this evening after Outdoor Class please."

As Keith groaned, Kellyn was almost glad he couldn't talk - so Miss April and Keith couldn't hear him cracking up. Ranger School had no far never failed to amuse him when he was bored.

"Anyway" Miss April continued "Let's meet up with the other class down in the Ascension Square."

Immediately everyone abandoned the classroom and headed down to the south-east corner of the school, down the stairs. Just before the pier, there was a large stone monument with the ranger's symbol carved on top of it called the Pledge Stone.

"Waahooo!" Keith cheered, punching the air "I've waited _so_ _long_ for an Outdoor Class!"

Rhythmi sighed, muttering: "Over-enthusiastic. He's way too pumped for an occasion like this."

Kellyn snorted with silent laughter. He noticed Kate just behind him and began walking beside her. He wrote her a message, quite bouncy as he was walking down stairs as he wrote:

**Excited to see the ranger?**

"Yeah!" Kate nodded, smiling "I mean, I've met three or four already."

**Huh? Where?**

"Four or five of them have a base in Vientown" Kate explained "When I transferred here from Fiore I stayed there briefly and met three of them. I wonder which one's coming over? Maybe Crawford, he normally does. Or maybe Luana; I hope so - she's a girl you see."

The information too much to compute, Kellyn just nodded. By now they were reaching the bottom of the steps.

"Kel! Kate!" Keith bellowed from somewhere up ahead "Hurry up! The ranger's already here! Some gangly guy with an absolutely _enormous_ afro!"

"Crawford" Kate muttered, nodding to herself.

They joined the semi-circle of students surrounding Keith's gangly ranger. Sure enough, he had an afro, a brown one slightly lighter than Kellyn's hair-colour. He had brown eyes and wore a uniform consisting of a red jacket, a red styler and what appeared to be a grey t-shirt and pair of long grey shorts combined.

"Well it appears everyone is here" Principle Lamont spoke up - a friendly grey-haired man wearing spectacles. "Let's get this Outdoor Class started. This is Crawford. He's a graduate of this school and now a Pokémon ranger at the Vientown base."

The ranger named Crawford gave them all a cheeky grin. "Hey kids! I'm Crawford. Nice to meetcha."

"Hello Crawford!" All the kids but Kellyn unisoned "Thank you for coming!"

"Budew!" A little green Pokémon with a yellow face jumped out from behind Crawford. The ranger smiled at it.

"This is my partner Pokémon, Budew" he explained. There came a mixture of cries as four Pokémon flew down, two on the other two's backs. There was a Cherbi on top of a Combee and a green Roselia on top of a Swealow. The two non-flyers leapt down and stood near Budew.

"And these are my friend Pokémon" Crawford explained.

"Wow!" Some of the kids beamed "So cool!"

Miss April, who was standing outside the circle, stepped forwards, getting Crawford's attention. "Hello Crawford, it's been a long time. Still got that giant explosion of an afro. But enough of that, we're all here so let's get started."

Crawford nodded and mumbled something to the Pokémon. All but Budew flew back to the top of the cliff, probably waiting for him to finish. "You said something about them having questions?"

"Yes" Miss April nodded "Alright everyone, let the questioning begin."

Nick was the first to speak. "Crawford, why did you decide to become a ranger?"

"A good question" Crawford smiled "It's because I love Pokémon. I wanted to become friends with them, to bond with them. Besides, it's a cool job!"

Miss April shook her head and muttered something along the lines of: "Typical Crawford."

"That's the same way I feel!" Nick beamed "I'm glad I asked!"

"I have a question" said a brunette called Tamie, waving her hand in the air "Which kind of Pokémon are hardest to catch?"

"In my opinion, Ghost and Psychic-types" answered Crawford "Yeah, they have this habit in battle to just go poof!"

"G-Ghost Pokémon do that?" Tamie stuttered. Kellyn could tell by the look on Keith's face he was thinking along the same lines, but didn't say anything. Kellyn was busy thinking of a question. Finally one came to him and he opened his notebook, then grabbing his pencil from his jacket pocket.

"Me! Me next!" It was Rhythmi who spoke next "Ranger Crawford, I really want to be an Operator. There isn't anything I'd rather be. Do you think I could become one?"

Crawford had to consider this. "I'm only seeing you for the first time ever, so it's not like I'm sure or anything. But, sure thing! No problemo! If that's what you want to become, and you work hard at it, I defiantly don't see why not."

'_This guy reminds me of Keith_' Kellyn thought, looking up from his writing '_Note to self, never let them hang around with each other. Could be disastrous for health._'

But Rhythmi was practically bouncing up and down in excitement. "That's right! Those are the words I wanted to hear! Yes!"

"Er...Rhythmi, are you not getting a Pokémon ranger mixed up with a fortune-teller?" Keith asked "Anyway, my question! Have you ever made any mistakes?"

Kellyn nodded to himself. '_Yep, defiantly a good question for Keith. The amount of mistakes he makes..._'

"Mistakes you ask? I made a lot of them when I first started" Crawford answered "Like the time I dumped juice all over my styler. Or the time I tried to capture a stuffed toy. Or the time I put my ranger uniform on over my pyjamas. And the..." He went red and took a step backwards "Hey! Come on! Enough! Stop making me admit all this stuff!"

Everyone, even Kellyn silently, laughed.

"Okay, um, here's my second question..." Keith began.

"Hey! Knock it off Keith! One question per person! Ranger Crawford's too busy to sit around answering your gazillion questions!" Becs interrupted roughly "Okay, my turn..."

As Becs asked her question, Kellyn frowned. He'd finished his question, but he had a problem. He elbowed Kate.

"Ow!" she hissed. He pointed down at his question, the at her, then at Crawford. "Oh, right!"

"...Yep, that's pretty much it" Crawford finished.

Kate cleared her throat. "Hey! Puffer!"

Crawford froze. "Only one person calls me by that name" he murmurred, then he smiled at Kate "Kate Hitomi! What a surprise!"

"Good to see you too Crawford" Kate grinned back "How is Luana and everyone?"

"Everyone's good back at base" Crawford nodded "Is that your question?"

"Er, no" Kate answered "My friend here Kellyn," she patted Kellyn's shoulder "He has a question. He wants to know what makes you glad about being a ranger."

"What makes me glad?" Crawford repeated "I have to say the big smiles we get after helping people or Pokémon. And the satisfaction you get knowing you've helped someone."

Kellyn nodded and wrote something that Kate read out.

"Kellyn says thank you" Kate explained "And that he hopes to see smiles like that someday too."

Crawford's eyes though rested on Kellyn. He stood there, watching him, trying to figure him out. He couldn't help but feel a little intimidated, but he was more than used to it - people tended to stare at him for his eyes or his muteness.

"Mr Ranger!" Liam made Crawford mercifully divert his attention "I have a question. Has Miss April ever been angry with you?"

"Are you joking?" Crawford grinned, looking at his former teacher "She only blew up on me like once every day!"

"You know that's not true" Miss April responded "It wasn't once a day. It was three times a day at least! Honestly, you, Luana and Elaine! The three of you may have been different ages and been at school for different allotments of time, but you caused even more trouble than Keith!" She shook her head in exasperation "But that's not the whole story kids. Crawford and Elaine were exceptionally bright pupils and helped Luana whenever she needed help catching up. Crawford kept everyone's spirits up with his kindness and sense of humour."

"Yep, sense of humour" Crawford cockily smiled "My jokes can't be topped! How else do we keep the Vien Town base from falling into a big pit of pessimism, especially with Barlow in charge!"

Everyone, Kate in particular, exploded into tears of laughter. They were all silenced though by a loud beeping noise. Budew began jumping up and down on the spot as Crawford flicked open the voicemail function on his styler.

"Hello?" he asked, tapping it, before smiling and clearing his throat "Ranger Crawford, in."

"Ranger Crawford!" A deeper voice responded, crackly over the radio and hard to hear "We have an emergency! A Mantine has become entangled in a fishing net in the Coral Sea. Sorry to interrupt, but I'm sending Luana with a boat to pick you up now."

"'Kay, meet ya there" Crawford nodded "Ranger Crawford, over and out."

He then performed his own ranger pose. Most of the students gasped how cool it was, all it did to Kellyn was make him make another mental reminder to come up with his own pose. Maybe a jump! Or would that make him look even shorter than he already was?

"Sorry to have to cut this outdoor class short Principle" Crawford turned to Principle Lamont "But this Mantine can't wait."

The principle nodded. "We understand."

"Hey! Crawford!" A boat pulled up by the pier and a female voice called out to the Afro-bearing ranger "Come on! We have a Mantine to save!"

"Comin' Luana!" Crawford called, then smiling at the kids "See ya later kids! I'll ask your principle to report back to you on the Mantine." With this he winked at Principle Lamont "Remember, keep at it and don't look back! Let's meet again some other time!"

He then rushed onto the pier and, as the boat began pulling away, performed a flying leap on deck. He gave them all a big wave before the boat disappeared from sight beyond the headland. There was a stunned silence for a few seconds.

"It's like we got to see an awesome scene!" Liam grinned finally.

"The boat's already tiny on the horizon..." Tamie commented.

"Well everyone" Principle Lamont got everyone's attention "That was the shortest Outdoor Class we've ever had. But it certainly was the most gripping and realistic one too."

"Okay everyone" said Miss April "Let's go back to our classrooms." Everyone left, accept for Keith, Rhythmi, Kate and Kellyn who all stood in the shade of the Pledge Stone.

"You know, I'm getting even more pumped up about becoming a ranger!" Keith grinned.

"Is that even possible?" Kate asked sarcastically.

The darker ginger of the two folded his arms with a sigh. "I've still got 37 questions to ask. But I think I'm going to find those answers myself!"

"A real ranger guaranteed I'll become an operator!" Rhythmi sighed dreamily, clasping her hands together.

"That are no guarantees on that" Kate put in "You have to grab hold of your dreams and make them come true!"

Kellyn full-heartedly agreed with her, nodding to show it.

"You think I don't know that?" Now Rhythmi had her arms folded too "I'm going to do it! I'll make my dream come true!"

"I'm going to too!" Keith punched the air "I'm not gonna loose when I have a rival like Kellyn!"

"Will I ever become a serious rival to you?" Kate sighed, becoming the third and final person to fold her arms. Her eyes strayed onto the stone monument beside them "Hey! I know! How about the four of us make a pledge here by the Pledge Stone? Let's pledge to each other to make our dreams come true!"

"You bet!" Rhythmi smiled.

"Alright, I'm in on this!" Keith cheered, punching the air again.

'_Yeah_!' Kellyn mirrored his main rival.

Keith and Rhythmi headed back towards the steps, but something was wrong with Kate. She was staring at him like he had just turned up at Almia Castle in swimming trunks. It was only as they approached the classrooms Kellyn realised why. When he agreed to the pledge back there, his voice had actually spoken.


	7. An announcement and a jailbreak

**"But what's the point? I mean, he'll just end up back in there tomorrow"**

**"But we're planning on being recognised."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Seven – An announcement and a jailbreak**

"Kellyn! Kel-lyn? Oi Kel! You awake in there?" Someone snapped their fingers in front of Kellyn's face. He jolted upright, blinking several times. Liam and Nick were sitting in front of him on the crates around the back of Kaplan and Claire's training lab. Ponte was also there, but he appeared to be distracted by Kaplan's voice reciting Shakespeare echoing through the window, whilst munching though a packet of marshmallows.

"The lights are on but nobody's home" Nick mumbled. Kellyn whacked his temples with his fingertips and focused on them. Liam was frowning disapprovingly and had his arms folded.

"Were you listening to any of my explanation?" Liam asked. Kellyn shook his head. He'd been, in a word, distracted. Even since leaving the Pledge Stone, he'd been thinking over and over about how he'd spoken. Not grunts, not squeals or frantic squeaks, actual words. Okay, maybe only one word but hey - you have to start somewhere, right! For four hours straight, he'd sat by himself on the base of Pledge Stone, desperately trying to speak again. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't do it.

Now he had to focus his mind on other things. Like playing a key role in Liam's plot to get Keith out of detention. The poor thing had been trapped in that dark dingy room with Mr Kincaid for hours, who knew if he was alright, if he was traumatised, if he was alive...these words came from Liam's mouth.

"So, Kellyn, you'll be the one to get Kincaid out of the classroom" Liam explained "Just throw some crates or something in front of the basement steps."

Kellyn nodded. He wondered how any of the boys, accept for Keith of course, would react if they knew he could turn invisible so he would definitely not be seen throwing stuff around Kincaid's prized hallways.

"Nick" Liam turned to his attention to the older brunet opposite him "You and I will find two Ponyta and distract Kincaid in the basement. This will give Kate time to sneak into the classroom. Then, once Kellyn gives the signal, we get the heck out of there. Also, Ponte," he elbowed the distracted black-haired boy to get his attention "You will set Kaplan's Bidoof loose. That'll force Kincaid outside and give Kate time to bust our buddy outta there!"

**Are you sure this'll work?**

"Of course it will Kel!" Nick gave Kellyn a pat on the back so hard he almost fell off his crate "Liam's plans always work! After all, this is a guy who can plot or plan his way out of anything! Even suspension!"

**But what's the point? I mean, he'll just end up back in there tomorrow**

He looked at Nick and Liam before adding.

**You guys too**

"But we're planning on being recognised" Liam explained "See, Kincaid can't stop us from passing notes to each other in detention, he's always too busy reading or styling his hair or yelling at students not to run in the hallways to notice. Plus, it's going to rain all day tomorrow, so let's play outside today whilst it's sunny and deal with detention on a wet day." Kellyn shrugged and nodded. So long as he, and probably Ponte too, stayed out of detention, he didn't really care what happened to the others.

**So, when do we begin your 'escape plan' ?**

"Right after the announcement" Liam explained. Everyone looked confused "Yeah, Miss April's got some announcement to make in approximately," He checked his watch "Two minutes for both classes. Keith won't be attending of course. After that, we give Swirly-hair ten minutes to go back to styling his hair or whatever before we swoop in for the catch." Kellyn just nodded. The school bell sounded and they all stood up.

"That'll be the announcement" Nick sighed "Come on. Let's see what Miss April wants."

* * *

><p>Everyone was waiting for them when they arrived. The students were sitting in a sort of semi-circle shape in the main hallway with Miss April and Principle Lamont at the front of the group. Mr Kincaid was probably stuck inside his room with Keith.<p>

Kellyn smiled and sat between Rhythmi and Kate, crossing his legs and listening to Miss April with full attention.

"Okay students, everyone is here" said Miss April after a head-count "Liam will you please stop fidgeting. Ponte, put the marshmallows away, thank you. Tamie, Verity, maybe you would be more interested to find out what I'm saying. Good."

She cleared her throat "Now everyone. I have some special news about. Christmas competition coming up."

'_Christmas_?' Kellyn thought '_You're already thinking about that_? _It's, like, another two months away._'

"We're telling you it now as we feel it may take some of you a while to conduct" the Principle went on "The competition is: to produce a report on one Pokémon."

Murmurs rippled across the crowd. Kellyn shrugged.

'_Doesn't sound too bad_' he thought.

"You will be working in pairs" Miss April added "If any of you cannot find a partner, the Principle and I will find one for you."

But that probably wasn't required. Kellyn could already see people shuffling to get to their partners and whispering to each other. It appeared Sami and that brunette girl Verity were together, Becs and Tamie were whispering about something, Nick and Liam were shuffling through the crowd to get to each other, Rhythmi and Isaac were sharing glances and Ponte kept on looking at the door to Mr Kincaid's classroom, he probably wanted to work with Keith. So left him, Kellyn, with...

"Hey Kellyn" Kate looked down at him (He inwardly groaned as he was yet again reminded he was the shortest and youngest person in Ranger School) smiling "Don't suppose you wanna work together, do you?"

Kellyn looked around, realising there were no more partners to work with, and nodded.

"Any idea what Pokémon you want us to report on?" Kate asked.

Kellyn just shrugged. Then he had an idea.

**My favourite Pokémon are the Eevee evolutions**

"Really?" Kate asked "So you wanna do a report on an Eevee evolution?" Kellyn nodded eagerly. Miss April cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.

"That ends the announcement" she said "Janice will be playing the movie Pokémon Ranger And The Temple Of The Sea for anyone who wants to watch it in the common room." Immediately nearly everyone ran for the common room. The three most immature of the boys stayed behind, discussing their 'Jailbreak' attempt and Isaac and Rhythmi headed for the library together. Kate and Kellyn remained sitting on the ground.

"That movie again?" Kate groaned "Seriously, I've only seen it like a thousand times!"

Kellyn nodded.

**Me too**

"Don't suppose you wanna work on our project tonight instead of watching it then?" Kate asked "I mean, I know it's not due in until Christmas but, me being me, will probably forget all about it until like the day before we have to hand it in. Plus we haven't exactly got a lot to do."

Kellyn agreed.

"But first" said Kate, putting on a contagious smile "I suggest we kick back, have some fun and break our buddy out of jail. What'd ya say?"

Kellyn nodded eagerly.

The two to them stood up and walked towards the other three. And it was only when Ponte gave them a confused look they realised they had been holding hands.


	8. Speak

**"I didn't mean to push you so hard!"**

**"You spoke."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Eight - Speak**

"I still can't believe those guys thought that plan was seriously going to work!" Kate laughed, swinging her legs back and forth over the cliff at the back of Ranger School.

Beside her, Kellyn opened the book on Eevee Evolutions and silently laughed. He wondered where Liam, Nick and Keith were currently hiding in fear of Kincaid. Their plan to bust Keith out of detention hadn't exactly gone to plan. First, Kincaid locked Keith inside the classroom when he left, so Kate had to use her screwdriver to break open a window to get him out. But things went drastically wrong at the school gates, when Kincaid had found Liam and Nick trying to smuggle their Pontya out of school. The Pokémon had got away, but Kincaid had gone into a rant that surely involved a month's worth of detentions before he had finally been distracted by Kellyn invisibly sending a barrel rolling at him. Liam and Nick had finally gotten away when Kellyn had persuaded the Bidoof to use Kincaid as a gnawing post.

"Honestly, those guys are so gonna owe you one for this Kellyn!" Kate laughed "Just remind them of this whenever they try to make you do something!" Kellyn nodded.

**Back to the point, which evolution are we doing for our project?**

"Ah yes, our Eevee Evolution" Kate smiled "Did you bring the book? Good." She took the book from him and began flicking through it "Well, Eevee would naturally be the easiest, but this is my personal favourite." She held up the book. Filling a single page was a drawing of a Pokémon that looked like a cross between a cat and a fox. Its body was tan coloured and it had one shade of dark brown that was carried out on the tip of its paws, as its eye colour, and in the centre of its ears. It had sprouts growing all over it, making it look more like a plant and a longer sprout of its forehead. It's ears and tail both shared a leaf-like quality.

"It's called Leafeon" Kate explained "Try saying it. Leaf-e-on." Kellyn took a deep breath and automatically his throat tightened. He just managed to croaked out:

"Ee-eon."

"That's it, Leafeon" Kate smiled encouragingly "Although I also like this one." She showed a different Pokémon. It was a fox like Pokémon covered in light-blue fur. It's inner ears, two spots on its back, tail end and cap-endings were all rhombus-shaped and darker blue, in contrast to the soft cyan of its main body colour. It's feet were also a dark blue colour, giving it the impression of wearing snow boots.

"This is a Glaceon" Kate explained.

"A-eon."

"Yeah, Glaceon" Kate nodded. As she settled on one page, her eyes lit up "Oh! What do you think of this one Kellyn?" This Pokémon had a sleek black body with a pair of crimson cat or fox-like eyes and yellow bands on its long, pointed ears and bushy, fox-like tail. It's forehead and legs had yellow rings on them. Kellyn read the title at the top of the page.

'_Umbreon_' he read in his head, his mouth forming the word as he did so.

"Yeah, Umbre..." Kate began, then she broke off. Her jaw dropped so much Kellyn was surprised it didn't hit the ground.

**What, something wrong?**

"S-Say that again" Kate ordered in a trembling voice "Umbreon."

'_Again_?' Kellyn shrugged and tried to speak again. It was more painful than before and he was just able to croak:

"U-ee-on!" before panting so hard from lack of oxygen he was surprised he didn't pass out.

"Kellyn!" his eyes were closed, but he could feel Kate shaking his shoulders "Kellyn are you alright? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to push you so hard! Kellyn!" He waved her concerned hand away and rubbed his eyes, focusing on Kate's terrified expression, looking like she was waiting for him to storm off and leave her. Her reassured her the best he could with and smile as his breathing returned to normal.

"You sure you're okay?" she asked. He nodded again.

**I'm fine, let's just not try that again**

"Yeah, we agree on that" Kate agreed "Are you sure you're fine." Kellyn nodded. "Well, in that case..."

A blob of water smacked Kellyn straight in the face. He was unsure of how to react to that. He just sat there, blinking as water dripped off his chin and off the point of his nose. He didn't even attempt to rub his eyes. His was just stuck there, stating at a grinning Kate past the dripping water. He blinked again and looked down at the ground in front of him; he saw a red balloon, the remains of a water bomb.

He frowned, flicked the water from his eyes with the back of his hand and plastered a glaring look onto his face so his eyes had the word: 'Die!' written all over them.

Kate squeaked and ran along the cliff top towards the back of the woods. Kellyn smiled and ran after her, waving his right arm with a clenched fist in lasso-like circles just above the side of his head.

'_**Little human!**_'

Kellyn ground to a halt as he heard a low Pokémon voice call out. He heard the sound of wood snapping on a grand scale and suddenly realised what was going to happen. He pounded after Kate as fast as his legs would take him, squeaking as loud as he could so he was heard over the sound of the snapping. How could Kate not hear it? Why wasn't she stopping?

'_Kate_! _Stop, please_!' he begged mentally, wishing more than ever for the ability to call out to her '_Kate please_! _Stop_!' It was such a simple thing for others, why was he and he alone robbed of such a life-saving necessity. '_KATE_!'

Kate suddenly stopped and looked at him. He was so relieved when she stopped he didn't take in the look on her face. He just grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the danger. But he pulled so hard she was sent flying into him, sending him skidding across the grass with her on top of him. A split second later there came a loud thud.

Kellyn groaned and focused on Kate's blue eyes staring down at him. Both blushed when they realised what position they had got themselves into.

"S-Sorry!" Kate stuttered. Before Rhythmi and her perfect timing could appear and spot them in this embarrassing situation, Kate rolled off Kellyn and the two of them sat up, panting. Where Kate had previously stood, a large tree had been Target Cleared. If Kate had kept running or stood there a second longer, she would have been crushed.

Kellyn looked into the trees. He thought he saw the shape of a large Pokémon walking away before Kate got his attention. She was as white as a sheet.

"Y-You saved me" Kate breathed. The two of them stared each other in the eye for a while. Neither were sure how long they sat like that before Kate finished with: "Thank you."

Kellyn shrugged.

**It's okay. I wasn't going to let you die**

There was an awkward pause before Kate said:

"You spoke." Kellyn blinked and she went on. "You spoke twice now. First when you said the word Umbreon, that's why I asked you to repeat it. And second when you called my name, that's why I turned around. I would have die if you hadn't."

There was another pause. Kellyn was speechless, even if he had been able to talk he wouldn't have been able to say a thing to that.

"That's why I thought, we could our project on Umbreon" Kate went on "Since it was the first Pokémon's name you spoke, it's special."

Kellyn thought about this, then nodded.

**Umbreon it is then**

They smiled at each other, unable to find anything else to say. The last few minutes had been too much for both of them to handle.

"HELP!"

Their smiles faded into confused expressions. Then Kate spoke the same word Kellyn mouthed, so if Kellyn could speak they would have spoke in unison.

"Keith?"

"Help!" Keith's voice cried again "Somebody help us!"

"Mr Kincaid's on our tail!" howled Nick, his voice coming from somewhere inside the school along with Keith's.

"He caught us running in the hallways and now he's going to fry us, dissect us and eat our guts for dinner!" cried Liam in a voice so quick and high-pitched Kellyn and Kate had to focus hard on it to catch what he was saying. Their three screams then drowned out Kincaid's replying words, but the two of them had a feeling it involved three months of detention and probably suspension in there too.

**Don't suppose you have any left-over water-bombs for Kincaid do you?**

"Maybe one or two!" Kate laughed "So, I take it we're going to save those idiots from Swirly-head again?" Kellyn nodded and began writing. It was longer than what he normally wrote and his hand was beginning to hurt by the time he finished.

**Well, I could do it invisibly so he wouldn't know who threw it. Then he would have to go back inside and take forever to fix his hair, so the others could probably take cover in the woods until dinner or something. When he's busy eating, we can sneak them into school or something**

"Do you actually think these plans up on the spot or do you have them pre-planned or something?" Kate asked.

**Isaac and I are forced to live with those rebel-rousers. What do you think?**

"Yeah, pre-made works best" Kate nodded "So, let's go save their sorry stylers again."

Kellyn nodded and stood up, dusting off his trousers as he did so. Holding his hand out, he helped Kate to her feet before they headed back towards the school.

"Kellyn wait." Kate stopped, grabbing at Kellyn's wrist so he would stop too. "One more thing. Back there, where you saved me. You could have been crushed under that tree too, the way you ran out there. So why did you?"

**Dunno, maybe it's the rebellious Fiorian side of me**

"Really?" Kate asked "I never saw Fiorians as rebellious. Well, maybe that just because I am from Fiore."

Kellyn raised an eyebrow is surprise.

**Are you a transfer student then?**

"Yeah, I transferred here last year" Kate nodded "I'll probably be moving back there when I leave Ranger School. I really want to go to Summerland - my brother works as a ranger there and I know all the guys really well."

**You're leaving at the end of this year?**

"Yeah" Kate shrugged "Why do you seem so upset about it?"

Kellyn wrote a message and a faint blush came onto his cheeks as he showed her it.

**Because I like you being here**


	9. Halloween

**"Stops struggling! This is why I tied you up in the first place!"**

**"We even dunked his hair in vinegar but it didn't come out."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Nine - Halloween**

At first, Kellyn had thought Keith had finally lost it. He'd been playing more pranks than usual, that was for sure. First, Kellyn had woken up to find a plastic Ariados on his face. He'd squeaked the school down to make an understatement. Mind you his wake-up prank hadn't been as bad as Isaac's.

Then lessons begun. Well, lessons begun late thanks to Keith now releasing Kaplan's Bidoof into the school. Kellyn wasn't sure why the ginger had made the Bidoof all wear black masks and Haunter-purple capes, but that wasn't the relevant bit. The nine of them together had created such a disturbance their history lesson had to be transformed into a catch-and-tidy lesson. Then, all the way through Geography, Keith had proceeded to throw mini plastic pumpkins around the classroom until Kincaid confiscated them all. Kellyn was half glad he did. Even if they weren't much bigger than tennis balls, those things really hurt when they hit you on the back of the head!

Lunchtime had also been eventful after Keith had plucked up the courage to lead the Ghastlys out of the basement and send them on a mission around school to scare at least thirty people. Although Kellyn wasn't sure how they would have achieved that since there were only 12 pupils, 2 teachers and then the Principle, Kaplan, his co-work Claire, Cook and Janice. Considering that added up to 18 Kellyn could tell Keith had been sleeping through Maths again. Only today he wasn't asleep through that or Art after lunch as he pulled out all the stocks to spook everyone to death with his pranks, which included a half-wild Glameow which he had strangely painted black.

It wasn't until Dinner when he finally got some answers out of the girls.

"Didn't you check your calendar?" Rhythmi giggled. Kellyn frowned. Rhythmi knew he didn't have a calendar "What's the date?"

**October 31st. So?**

"Oh come on Kellyn!" Kate sighed, smiling "It's Halloween!" Kellyn tilted his head to the side. Yeah, Luke and Clio had talked about that name a lot at this time of year, but he had never exactly taken part in, whatever it was.

"Which translates as 'Trick-or-Treating Night'" Rhythmi explained "We were hoping you would join us. I mean Isaac's not coming and I don't think any of us could bare to be stuck with Keith and his friends all night. I mean you saw how unbearable Keith is in the _daytime_!" Kellyn paused, then shrugged and finally nodded. Then he wrote something:

**Okay, but one thing. What's trick-or-treating?**

* * *

><p><strong>What bomb went off in here?<strong>

Kellyn's eyes widened as he looked into the dorm room. He'd only come up to get his book, but he'd received nothing short of a heart attack when he opened the door. One thing he hadn't expected was Keith to be standing right in front of him in a black and white skeleton costume. But now he was inside and had finished squeaking the school down again, he saw everyone was getting dressed up. Ponte was apparently a Gengar whilst Nick was dressed up as a vampire. Liam had a strange costume but he called it 'Jack the Ripper' or something like that and had his own mini flick-knife. Isaac was apparently not taking part and had gone to take cover in the library or the basement. Kellyn didn't blame him. Nick and Liam were having what appeared to be a claw-on-knife fight on one side of the dorm.

Isaac's bed hadn't survived, there were so many costumes and clothes on it Kellyn couldn't even see the duvet. Thankfully his own bed had been untouched, but that was probably because it was a top bunk, and because Keith knew that Kellyn would personally kick him halfway around Ranger School and back if it was touched.

"No bomb" answered Keith "We were just trying on our Halloween costumes." He rubbed his chin, studying Kellyn's uniform "Not much of a costume..." He then called "Hey Nick! You got another costume over there for Kellyn?"

"Oh please! Spare Kellyn the misery of your fashion sense Keith!" They must have left the door open, because leaning in the doorway was Kate.

"Hey! Boys-only dorm!" Ponte complained.

"Yeah! Scram before we call Janice!" Liam added, pointing his knife half-threateningly in Kate's direction.

"Nice try boys, but I've got permission" she laughed. She unfolded a piece of paper with: 'Permission to enter the boy's dorm under any circumstances' written on it with a blue stamp shaped like a Cranidos in the corner.

"What!" everyone's jaws dropped, it was Nick who spoke though "How did you get one of those things?"

"Isaac stamped one for Rhythmi for their joint science project last year, but since she doesn't need it any more she gave it to me." All the boys except Kellyn groaned.

"Isaac!" Keith groaned "Fine! What do you want Kate?"

"All I want to save Kellyn from you guys" smiled Kate as she walked into the dorm "Kellyn doesn't have a costume, right? And Rhythmi has taken the other girls down to the library to plan something, probably a Christmas party or something. So what I suggest..." She placed a hand on Kellyn's shoulder "...is that _I_ find a costume for Kellyn."

"You?" Keith asked, considered it, then smiled "'You got an idea?"

"Yup" Kate nodded.

"Alright then" Keith smiled "Give it your best shot. But if you fail then we'll take over and find Kellyn a costume." Kellyn folded his arms. He wanted to snap back something about not needing anyone to put a costume together for him, but since this was five on one he could see it was not going to happen.

"Okay then short-stuff" Kate smiled, grabbing his wrist and yanking him towards the door "Time for a make-over."

* * *

><p>Kellyn had found it bad enough being dragged into the girl's dorm, but being literally tied to a chair by a rope was too much.<p>

"Stop struggling!" Kate complained, checking the ropes "This is why I tied you up in the first place!" Kellyn sent her a death glare. That wasn't the only reason she had tied him up, particularly his arms. He couldn't reach his notebook, and therefore couldn't protest any further than his grunts and squeaks. That was what annoyed him the most.

Kate took a few steps back, using her thumbs and forefingers to make a square which she looked through with one eye in a camera-like manner.

"Keeeete..." Kellyn began, but Kate was for once wasn't interested in his attempt to speak.

"Don't 'Kete' me" she interrupted, opening what he hoped wasn't a make-up bag but wanted to bet was "Now, I've got the perfect idea for your look..." She explained the idea, and Kellyn eyes widened into an 'Are you serious?' look.

"Completely" Kate nodded "Now, here we go!" She removed a pot of blue-black inky powder from the bag. Kellyn's white pupils dilated as he shook his head.

"Oh come on, don't be a wuss!" Kate complained, placing her hands on her hips "It just goes in your hair and washes out when you go in the shower! It's not going to permanently dye you blue!" Kellyn didn't look convinced.

"Kellyn, please!" Kate gave him puppy-dog eyes "I wouldn't force you to do anything that wasn't safe for your health or social status!"

'_Clio's exact words before she dangled me off a cliff by my arm unless I helped her prank Luke_' Kellyn thought. However he did trust Kate a lot more than Clio. Very reluctantly, he nodded his consent.

"Good" Kate smiled, putting on a pair of plastic gloves which made her look too much like a surgeon for Kellyn's liking "Let's get started!"

Whilst he complained about it a lot, Kate rubbed the powder into his hair. His annoyance fuelled his desire to speak and he just managed to give Kate a piece of his mind.

"Who cares if your hair is messy?" Kate protested "You only ever brush the front anyway!"

'_Yeah, so_?' Kellyn thought '_That's only because Keith comes and drags me away somewhere before I get round to the back_!' But since Kate was ignoring him, he just gritted his teeth and bared it.

Some time later, when she was sure the powder wasn't going to rub off onto his clothes, Kate pulled an outfit out of the wardrobe and shooed him into the bathroom to get changed. Thankfully there was no one in the common room area when he had to cross it. The clothes were a tad on the big side, but he could cope. Well accept with the headband.

"It's not a necklace you know" Kate smiled when he came back with it around his neck. He folded his arms and began squeaking to her how he'd tried and tried again to get that thing round his forehead but had only proceeded to end up with it constantly falling down his face.

"Alright, alright! I get it!" she waved her hands out in front of her to ward off Kellyn's death-glare "I'll find you another one!" Once they had found a smaller headband, Kate sat him down in the chair again (this time he had promised he wouldn't run away also she didn't tie him up) and started on the make-up. First she sponged his face white and then started playing around with some thin brushes. Then she took a few steps back to marvel at her handy work.

"Your eyes are the wrong colour" she commented "Well, not much I can do about that." She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room "Come on, I want to see Keith's face when he sees you. You're going to blow those boys out of the water!"

* * *

><p>Once again Kate grabbed Kellyn's wrist and proceeded to drag the now very fed up boy into the room next-door. At first, both were a bit afraid to go in as they heard Nick and Keith laughing, Liam shaking a tin or bottle of something and Ponte crying out in what might be agony.<p>

"Sounds like Liam and Nick have dragged Ponte into that fight, huh?" Kate raised an eyebrow at Kellyn. Kellyn could only nod, a little afraid of what he was going to see on the other side of the door.

Thankfully, as Kate pushed the door open, Kellyn noted Liam had yet to carve anyone up with his knife and Nick had yet to shred someone with his claws. Keith and Nick were on the floor rolling about in laughter, Liam was practically skipping around the room and Ponte was on his knees in front of the long mirror, crying. It was immediately obvious why, and it told them what the bottle Liam was shaking whilst he was skipping was. Hair spray. Poor Ponte's hair was now a deep cerulean colour that could be only be described as turquoise.

'_Great Arceus_!' Kellyn raised an eyebrow '_What possessed them to that_?'

"Holy Mew!" Kate spluttered "What in the name of Latios did you do to Ponte?" She directed her attention to the way-too-hyper blond who was dancing around with a hair-spray bottle, but Liam was dancing around so much and laughing so loudly they all doubted he could hear her. So she turned and glared at Keith with her hand on her hips.

"W-What? Why are you glaring at me?" Keith raised his hands to ward off Kate's icy glare. He pointed at his friend "It was Nick's idea!"

"Not true!" Nick protested "You suggested it Keith!"

"I did not!" Keith shook his head defiantly.

"You did too!" Nick nodded furiously.

"Did not!" Keith pushed Nick even though they were sitting cross-legged.

"Did too!" Nick did the same to Keith.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did n...!"

"ENOUGH!" Kellyn could practically see the smoke swirling gout of Kate's ears and possibly her nostrils in a Typhlosion-like manner as she yelled.

"He started it!" Nick and Keith unisoned, using both their hands to point at each other.

"I don't care who started it, I'll finish it!" Kate fumed "Now, WHAT HAPPENED?" Ponte sniffed and looked at her with teary blue eyes.

"Liam suggested it" he whimpered "He said Janice had some temporary hairspray I could use to turn my hair purple and make my costume look great..." He burst into tears "But the instructions were in Orrian!"

"And he takes Kantonese" Nick explained.

"And now it won't come out" Keith explained "We tried everything, we even dunked his hair in vinegar and it didn't come out." Kellyn blinked. If they had dunked Ponte in vinegar and laughed about it, he wondered what other types of cruel punishment they'd put the marshmallow-eating boy through whilst he was being dragged around and tied to chairs by Kate.

"Oh Ponte!" Kate sighed "You know those cheap hair sprays are as reliable as Keith staying awake all the way through reading-period!" Ponte whimpered and curled up into a ball from his kneeling position on the floor. Kate sighed again and crouched beside him, patting his shoulder.

"Ponte, cheer up" Kate tried to cheer him up "Your hair's not so bad. I mean, look at Kaplan, his hair's blue and he doesn't care."

"Kaplan's a weirdo though!" Ponte groaned.

"Can't deny the logic there" Keith nodded un-usefully, just avoiding getting his hand trodden on by Liam who was sill skipping and laughing "Oi! Watch it Liam!"

"Ignore Keith" Kate continued to try and cheer Ponte up "Ponte, you don't need to look pretty to be a great ranger. You got the second highest test mark in our class. And I mean, look at Keith. He's a once-record-holding capturer and have you seen his ugly mug? One word: Trubish."

"Hey!" Keith protested "You're one to talk, with those spiky pigtails! And what's wrong with my face exactly?" Ponte uncurled himself, chuckling.

"Everything's wrong with it Keith" Kate answered, standing up and folding her arms "Remember when that new kid fainted at the botto of the stairs when we were coming down them last year?"

"I thought he passed out from nervousness?" Keith asked, cocking his head to one side "He went home after a week."

"Oh he passed out alright" Kate nodded "He passed out because you were so hideous to look at his brain couldn't take it." Kellyn was glad he was mute. That way Keith wouldn't hear him cracking his ribs with laughter in the doorway.

"Why you!" Keith felt to his feet, red with rage.

"Seriously Keith, facial surgery is needed" Kate couldn't resist going on further "Your face is so hopelessly scrambled there are days when I want to try and save it myself, before it's too late." She said the last bit in a sinister tone that caused Kellyn, Nick and Ponte to start cracking up. Liam had no idea what he was missing in his own stupidity.

"_You_ doing facial surgery!" Keith snorted, sulking and folding his arms "That'll be the day that kills me! I probably won't survive it!"

"Well Kellyn survived his costume surgery" Kate pointed out "Aren't you even going to look at my creation?"

"Hmph! Why should I?!" Keith snapped, subconsciously turning his head to look at Kellyn out of the corner of his left eye "I mean it's not like it's going to be any go... YOW!"

Keith sprang so high up Kellyn wouldn't be surprised if he hit the ceiling. That seemed to ring true when he landed with a thud and start nursing his head and and his back. Liam then looked at him, snapped out of his lunatism and dropped the bottle of turquoise hair-spray, making no move to pick it up again. Ponte looked like he was about to try and crawl into a mouse hole in order to hide and Nick looked frozen, his jaw dropped.

'_What_?' Kellyn thought desperately '_What did Kate do to me_?'

"You wanna see?" Kate smiled, beckoning him over to the large mirror. Avoiding standing on the costumes and what-not littered all over the floor, Kellyn made his way over to the mirror. He jaw dropped when he saw his reflection, his eyes widdening.

"Whoa!" Keith gasped somewhere behind him "I gotta hand it to ya Kate, that's a darn good job!"

"It's more than a good job!" Liam put in "Kellyn you look just like...!" He broke off, as if he was almost afraid to say the next two words. So Nick said them for him:

"Lunick Kazuki."

And he did. Kate was a genius, officially. She'd made his hair looked even messier than normally above his head and the powder now made it look a dark shade of cobalt. The costume she'd forced him to wear (he hadn't been able to get a good look at it in the bathroom thanks to the lights that seriously needed repairing) was a Fiorian ranger's uniform, a Ringtown one to be exact. For a second he wondered why Kate had a Fiorian ranger's uniform in her wardrobe, even if that was her home region, but pushed the thought away. To add a ghostly element to him, Kate had put her make-up kit to good use and made his face, hands and legs looked corpse-white and decorated his face with scars.

'_Is that what my brother really looked like_?' Subconsciously, his hand reached up to where his locket hung, but fell to his side again as he remembered it wasn't around his neck any more. That was the only tie he had to his brother, accept for these psychic powers he possessed. Not for the first time, he wished he could have known the one who had cared for him so much just a little longer, so he could at least remember his face. He had the same feeling as a child who was orphaned near birth, wishing only to know what it's parents looked like.

"So, did I do a good job?" Kate elbowed him. Kellyn wondered whether he should tell Kate that Lunick was actually his older brother and he was over the moon about her choosing this costume instead of dressing him up as a Gengar or a vampire...or whatever Jack the Ripper was. He also wondered whether he should tell her how he found it strange, looking like his brother, but as something to be feared.

'_No, not now_' he decided '_It's better if some things are left unsaid until it necessary for them to be told_.' So instead he wrote:

**It's great Kate, seriously**

Kellyn frowned as Kate read the message. Was there a reason her cheeks were going red? Was she coming down with a fever or something? Huh, why is Keith smiling? That's never a good thing.

"Oooh!" Keith smiled "Is that a blush I see?"

That only made the ginger female's cheeks turn an even brighter red.

"Um...I-I'd better find the girls and tell them to put their costumes on" she said as quickly as possible "See you guys later! Bye!" She hurried out of the room as fast as her legs would take her.

'_Well that was odd_' Kellyn frowned '_When since did Kate start acting nervous_?'

"Well well well" Keith folded his arms and shook his head "Looks like someone has a crush."

That just made Kellyn even more confused. But when he asked for answers, Keith found that even more amusing:

**Since when did you have a crush on Kate?**


	10. Past Promise

**"Please tell me the majority of them are Haribos!" **

**"So much has happened, like water flowing past in a river."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Ten – Past Promise**

"So, Ponte" Verity sat down on the ground at the Eastern edge of Vientown, not giving a damn about whether her costume got dirty or not. The ground was dry and she couldn't see a reason why she would ever need it after tonight anyway. "How many people did your skeleton costume scare?"

Ponte groaned as he sat down also, counting the sweets in his basket. "Evidently not many. Thanks to someone, my blue-haired Gengar costume just looked a bit odd."

With this he glared at Liam who was attempt to slice open a toffee with his flick-knife.

"Don't take it too hard, it appears the classic vampire costume didn't work either" Nick swung an arm around Ponte's shoulder "And besides, Liam's costume just confused everyone."

"It's original" Liam countered, pointing his flick-knife in Nick's direction.

"Original my foot" Becs snorted, sitting down with everyone else in a small circle "You only came in that costume because you got the idea from Neville last year."

Liam opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it and just started innocently staring off into space.

"Who got the most sweets?" Tamie asked, her black hair making her perfect for Cleopatra "I got about 20 I think."

"Beat that, 27!" Verity smiled, pushing a grey-white dread-lock behind her shoulder, her costume resembling the Grey Lady of Almia Castle.

"I can top that" Rhythmi smiled; her costume consisted of white makeup and a flowing white dress, so Kellyn could only presume she was some sort of ghost "How about 32?"

"What, Rhythmi too?" Tamie's jaw dropped.

"I have 34" Sami some-what bragged, she was a vampire also.

"Sami!" Tamie protested, looking really disheartened now.

"How come the female vampire got more than the male?" Nick complained, studying his 26 sweets.

"Because everyone prefers girls in costume" Sami smiled, making him scowl.

"35, so I'm winning" Becs smiled smugly, dressed as a well-suiting devil.

"I have 38 sweets" Liam smiled smugly "Anyone top that?" Silence resounded around the circle for a few heartbeats.

"41" It was Kate who broke the silence. Everyone had been stunned when she turned up in an ankle-length black dress and pointed black hat, her flame-orange hair just reaching her shoulders out of those spiky pigtails, in the best witch costume anyone had seen at Ranger School for years.

"Ha ha! I win!" Keith cheered "43!"

"Ahem, I think your forgetting someone" Rhythmi halted his celebration "Kellyn, how many do you have?"

Kellyn looked down at the ground, as if he was quite content with Keith being victor and didn't want to take the glory. He was perfectly content letting somebody else shine birth pride - he didn't need it.

"No, it's okay, speak up" Nick coaxed him.

"If Keith dares go after you for winning, he'll have to answer to my blade" Liam unfolded his flick-knife, as if he actually intended to use it against Keith.

"I can top that" Becs added "Keith has a choice. I can break his nose, give him a black eye, shatter a rib or two, or fracture his leg. However, if he wants, I'm capable of delivering all four at once."

Keith gulped tried to look as innocent as possible. He smiled sweetly at Kellyn. "Go on Kel, don't leave 'em hanging."

Kellyn ran a hand through his hair, dislodging some of the midnight-blue powder that completed his costume with some gathering on his hand. He rubbed the powder off his hand into the dirt and that traced a number in it. Tamie's jaw dropped again as she read it.

"46?" she cried, flabbergasted "Please tell me the majority of them are Haribos!"

Kellyn looked down at the ground, and even through his white make-up you could see his cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"46!" Keith cried, looking like someone was dangling a toddler by its pinky over a lava pool "46! As in 40 plus 6?"

Rhythmi gasped. "Someone get this down on paper! Keith just admitted he know how to add numbers together!"

Keith grumbled something inaudible, but Kellyn could tell it wasn't nice words about the blonde operator-to-be.

"Guys come on, be fair" Verity tried to call a cease-fire "Kellyn does deserve it. His costume's the best by far."

Murmurs of approval began to ripple around the circle. Kellyn shook his head and pointed at Kate.

"Don't you try to dump all the honour on me" Kate warned him "I may have put the costume together, but you were the once who trusted me to do so, not to mention you're the perfect person to wear it."

"It's true Kellyn" Nick told him "You look just like Lunick."

Kellyn smiled gratefully. A lot of people make take this comment as an insult, but to Kellyn it was a definite compliment.

"You petrified a lot of people with it" Ponte nodded "I thought poor old Mr Woodward was going to die of a heart attack."

"Yeah well, the old geezer deserves it" Liam snorted "Remember the time he threw apples at us just because we were marvelling his creations?"

"You were attempting to vandalise them" Nick pointed out.

Liam shrugged. "Same thing to me."

"Ignoring the Woodward comment" Sami went on "I think the best reaction was out of Kyle."

"Oh yeah!" Becs laughed "The kid totally fainted on us!"

"I think you scared all the little kids Kellyn, Mimi ran into the house and hid when she saw us coming" Keith agreed "You sister was even scared, and I mean, she grew up with you."

"Yup, poor..." Tamie broke off "What's your sister's name again?"

Kellyn sat up and folded his arms. He paused for a second before tracing a single letter in the dirt.

"M?" Rhythmi asked "Oh! Your sister's name begins with M!"

Kellyn nodded, letting them play the enviable little guessing game. He liked doing that - he always got a laugh out of their absurd suggestions. It was like charades but with letters.

"Malory?" suggested Nick. Kellyn shook his head.

"Millie?" offered Verity. Again Kellyn shook his head.

"Minnie?" Sami tried. Once again, a wrong answer.

"Mackenzie?" Ponte asked. And again.

"May?" suggested Liam. You get the idea by now.

"Maria?" offered Becs.

"Mary?" tried Kate.

"Misty?" that was Keith.

"Minty?" Tamie.

"Mona?" Verity tried again.

"Mel?" asked Ponte for a second time. Kellyn gestured with his hand for him to build on that. The now turquoise-haired boy just looked confused.

"Melanie?" asked Nick. Kellyn shook his head, gesturing to say 'nearly'.

"Melissa!" Rhythmi cried a split second before Kate did. Kellyn turned to Kate and clapped, nodding and smiling.

"Hey! No fair!" Rhythmi complained "I said it first!"

"Don't bother Rhyth" Keith sighed, smiling knowingly "We all know Kellyn would choose Kate to win any day."

Kellyn frowned and wrote something in his notebook, then handing it to Keith to read.

"Can't read it, not enough light" the ginger informed him.

Sami snatched it and read it. She swallowed a laugh.

"What is it?" Liam asked.

"**'What's that supposed to mean?'**" Sami read.

There was a moment of silence before everyone accept for Kellyn and Kate burst out laughing. The two aforementioned ones just exchanged some confused glances at what all the humour was about.

* * *

><p>She slunk forwards, silent as a cat, her belly-fur almost scuffing the grass. She dipped lower to enter the bushes, stopping to give her paw a lick after a branch brushed it as she slunk forwards. She brushed some leaves aside with her tail and let her blue gaze sweep over the rangers-in-training. Her main focus was on the boy who had his back to her. Midnight-blue hair, broad shoulders and a near silent attitude.<p>

'_Is it really him_?' She thought '_Either that, or someone so similar. How old must he be now, if he were alive_? _25_? _Older_?'

She narrowed her eyes slightly as she called his name. "Lunick?"

The boy turned and She shuffled back slightly. He looked at the bush She was hiding in, his eyes never blinking, before turning back to his friends.

She gave a sigh, half-relief half-disappointment. It wasn't him: blue-green eyes had replaced the aqua. But those white pupils - now those got her attention. And his striking resemblance to her old friend was also something to be marvelled at. She narrowed her eyes again.

'_Is this him_?' She thought '_Is this the child Lunick referred to_?'

* * *

><p><em>She crept silently into the clearing. Warmth washed over her as She approached the roaring fire in the centre. On the edge of the clearing, a blue-haired girl was asleep, clutching a five-month-old baby. The one She had really come to see though was awake. He was feeding sticks to the fire, keeping it going to bring light and warmth. A spiral of smoke rose between the branches of the trees into the black starlit sky.<em>

_"You'll attract unwanted attention with that" She informed him. _

_The boy looked at her. His broad shoulders and wild midnight-blue hair signalled his Fiorian blood, but his soft aqua eyes were those typically of an Almian._

_"Who cares?" he shrugged "Lots of people camp out here. Smoke won't be that unusual."_

_"You need to stop taking risks Lunick" She told him with a sigh "This last week has been almost disastrous. Kellyn was almost captured, you were almost killed!"_

_"But I haven't yet" Lunick responded, throwing a thin stick onto the fire "No, my death is not upon me yet." _

_Silence enveloped the clearing._

_"Have you seen when it'll come?" She asked. _

_Lunick sighed as the fire slowly started to die. His eyes flickered to a blue colour that was almost white and the fire grew again. To make sure it stayed that way, he fed it another stick._

_"Yes" he answered "A month. Maybe two."_

_"A month!" She stepped back in shock "Only a month! That's not enough time for Kellyn to learn to control his powers! Even with Solana's help, you think too much of him Lunick! He's just a hatching!"_

_"That may be" Lunick nodded, his eyes still trained on the flames. That fire must be very interesting for him to stare at it so much "But I know it's not my destiny to be the Hero of Almia."_

_"And you think it's Kellyn's?" she asked. _

_Lunick sighed and his gaze followed the pillar of smoke to the night sky._

_"Maybe" he said "That's why I asked you, my friend." He lowered his gaze to meet hers "Please, if anything happens to Solana or I, protect Kellyn."_

_"Why do you hold this child above your own life?" She asked._

_"Because I must" was his answer "Promise me."_

_"But why?" She asked "I don't understand."_

_"Please!" he aqua eyes had a begging look in them now. _

_She sighed in defeat. __"I will, I promise. I don't know why you treasure this child, but if it means so much to you, I will watch over it." _

_Lunick's worry dissolved into a smile. All he said though was __"Thank you."_

_Almost equally silent, She flicked her tail and headed for the bushes._

_"Wait." Lunick's voice halted her and she turned around to face him._

_"We have been through much together, haven't we?" Lunick commented._

_"Of course" She nodded "We've seen so much; the rise of the Go Rock Squad, the fall of Ringtown Base, the fights against the three great beasts, so much bloodshed in this pointless war..." She sighed "So much has happened, like water flowing past in a river."_

_"More water will flow before we meet in Giratina's realm" Lunick told her "And soon, Kellyn will join us on that river bank." He narrowed his eyes "Know this, my friend - your destinies are intertwined. No matter how far you run, you will find yourself beside him again."_

_"I will keep that in mind" She flicked her tail as a goodbye "Farewell, Lunick Kazuki."_

_And with that She slunk away into the darkness of the forest._


	11. An extremely imporant package

**"We are going to be the latest interns ever at this rate!"**

**"Maybe...a bomb!"**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Eleven - An extremely important package**

"NOOOO! This cannot be happening to me!"

"Take a chill pill Keith!" Rhythmi sat down at her desk and looked past Kellyn at the ginger ranger wanna-be. Keith was pulling on his amber hair, his eyes wide and looking like someone was being murdered right in front of him.

**It's just a Maths lesson Keith**

"Easy for you to say Kel!" Keith groaned "I can't remember all those times tables!" He took a deep breath and closed his eyes "Okay, focus Keith. 12 times 4 is 48. 12 times 5 is 60. 12 times 6 is 62... No, I mean 64! No, 74! No!..." He slumped forwards, his forehead touching the wood of the desk "I am so dead!"

The bell rung and the door opened. Everyone watched Miss April walk to the front of the classroom.

"Worst day ever!" Keith groaned just loud enough for Kellyn to hear.

"Okay everyone" Miss April said "Today you will be going on your 1-day internships."

A cheer broke out from the class. Keith sat up, now grinning in delight.

"Changed my mind, best day ever!" he whooped, throwing his arms in the air. Then he glared at Kellyn "Why didn't you tell me?"

**Because it's funny to watch you panic and stress**

Keith growled and threw the notebook back at him.

"Silence everyone!" Miss April shushed them "Today you will get to experience what it's like or be a real Ranger, Operator or Mechanic. For that you will have to head out to the facilities you have been signed up for. Don't take any side-trips and please be careful."

She then opened an envelope. Inside was a sheet of paper with a list of names and places on it.

"Sami, Ponte, you will be heading to the ranger base up in Pueltown" she explained "Rhythmi, you will be going to the Ranger Union. And Kate, Keith and Kellyn, you three will be going to the ranger base in Vientown." She folded up the paper and slotted it into the envelope again "Understood?"

"Yes miss" everyone said in unison.

Ponte and Sami left immediately, but the other four hung back.

"I'm trying out to be an Operator, so I'm heading to the Ranger Union" Rhythmi explained "It's quite far from here, past Pueltown, so I have to go right now. See you guys this evening!"

She ran out the door in a whirl of blonde curls, waving at them until she was gone from sight.

"Vientown base?" Keith asked "Isn't that where Crawford, the ranger from Outdoor Class, is stationed?"

"Yeah, I know nearly everyone at that base" Kate nodded "Hey. Since the three of us are all going to Vientown, let's all go together."

* * *

><p>"Oh no" Kate gulped as they exited the school building. In front of them, four Bidoof were visible, churning up the lawn.<p>

"Kaplan is so dead" Keith commented.

Kellyn nodded, wincing as he imagined what unspeakable horrors Janice would inflict upon Kaplan for this jailbreak.

"I better capture them before they cause havoc" Kate said "You guys go ahead."

The two boys simply nodded, not needing to voice their thoughts, skirting round the Bidoof and heading down the steps to leave Ranger School.

"Heeeelp meeeeee!"

"Oh now what?" Keith complained. The two of them reached the base of the steps. Halfway up a tree was a very scrawny man wearing an apron, clinging onto the trunk for dear life as two Bidoof ran in circles around the base.

**Who's that?**

"Hey! Little Tim!" Keith called as he and Kellyn approached the tree "Playing hide-and-seek with some of Kaplan's Bidoof?"

"No! That's not it!" the man cried, sounding terrified "Can't you tell by what you're seeing? These Bi-Bi-Bidoof are attacking me!"

"_**Come on! Come down!**_" One of the Bidoof called "_**The game's no fun when you're up a tree!**_"

'_That doesn't sound like 'attacking' Pokémon_' Kellyn couldn't help but think.

"Listen to them!" Little Tim cried "'Beedhoo! Beedhoo!' They're going to maul me! I can tell!"

Keith cocked his head to one side. "No, Little Tim, I think these Bidoof just want to play."

A Bidoof rammed the tree.

"Sure, Dazaru, that's easy for you to say!" Little Tim yowled "But I won't deny it! I'm scared - even deathly sacred - of Pokémon!"

"Awww, but these Bidoof are so cute..." Keith smiled like he'd seen a Mew or an Eevee.

Kellyn squeaked to get his attention and then tapped the side of his notebook with his pencil.

"Oh, you've never met this guy Kellyn?" Keith asked "This is Little Tim, the milkman. He's seriously afraid of Pokémon, but they all seem to like him. Probably because he smells of Miltank milk all the time."

**Shouldn't we help him?**

"Well, it's a ranger's duty to help citizens in need" Keith stretched his arms over his head "These Bidoof seem kinda agitated though. They may be tough." He paused to think. Wow, Keith thinking. "We'll split up. You take one Bidoof, I'll take the other."

Kellyn nodded and walked over to the calmer of the two. Revenge for all the times Keith got him up early in the morning.

The Bidoof was tougher than normal, but it didn't take Kellyn much more than a minute and only lost a bar or two of his capture styler energy. Keith however took ages, lost half of his styler energy and uttered at least six curses in the midst of it. Finally though, the two Bidoof calmed and bounded up the steps towards Kaplan and Claire's lab.

"Okay, that's done" Keith wiped his brow "Alright Little Tim! You can come down now! The Bidoof are gone!"

Little Tim surveyed the area for a long time to confirm Keith's words before slowly climbing down the tree.

"Aiyiyi! That scared me a-plenty!" he panted "I was good and scared, but I was saved. I was saved, but I'm still good and scared." He smiled at them "Thank you, Dazaru and...er..." he looked at Kellyn "Sorry, I don't think you're familiar."

"Oh, Little Tim, this is Kellyn Solluna" Keith introduced his friend "He's the adopted son of those farmers down in Chicole Village."

"Oh, well, I owe you both a big thanks" Little Tim continued "Those Bidoof were going to maul me! That was some good capturing!"

"Well, I am the best!" Keith grinned "And Kellyn has a brother and sister who were rangers apparently, so naturally he's second best."

**Probably third best, Kate's still brilliant**

"Yeah, I guess Kate is pretty good" Keith nodded.

"Thanks for recognising me Dazaru!" Kate came running down the steps "Don't worry, the other Bidoof are under control. Now Kaplan's got Janice and Claire to worry about. Apparently the Bidoof chewed through some of Claire's books."

"Well, that could have been my leg being chewed" Little Tim shuddered "Hello Hitomi, and thank you."

"Hi Little Tim!" Kate grinned "You're welcome!"

"Well, I surely won't forget you three for saving me" Little Tim nodded his thanks yet again "You'll make great rangers, I'm sure of it."

And with that he left in the direction of Vientown, his metaphorical tail between his legs.

"Come on you two, we're running late!" Keith ran towards the gate "Let's get to Vientown!"

"Wait a minute!"

All three stopped just outside the school gates as Miss April stopped at the bottom of the steps.

"Okay, whatever's happened, I didn't do it!" Keith held up his hands in defence, making Kate and Kellyn snigger.

"I was merely going to say I saw the three of you helping Little Tim out and getting those Bidoof under control" Miss April said "And instead of competing with each other, for once, you cooperated with each other. That's how real rangers would act. Now, keep your chins up and off you go to Vientown as if you were real rangers!"

* * *

><p>Another distraction stopped them at the bridge.<p>

"Oh what is it now?" Keith complained as he bumped into the back of Kate and Kellyn as they stopped "We're going to be the latest interns ever at this rate!"

They both silenced him with glares. Standing in front of them was a young girl with blonde hair that reminded Kellyn of Melissa, only her watery eyes were blue instead of brown. If her red and blotchy eyes and tear-streaked cheeks were anything to go by, she had apparently been crying.

"I came here see him but..." she sniffed and began crying again.

"Oh!" Kate rushed over, got down on one knee so she could looked the little girl in the eye and shushed her gently "Easy now, easy. Now, who did you come to find?"

The girl wiped her tears away with her purple sleeve.

"My big brother...he's not here" she sniffed.

Kellyn and Keith immediately began looking about for an older boy. But they couldn't see anyone.

"And who might your older brother be?" Keith asked.

"Hi, what's going on?"

They turned and saw Ponte walking over to them, his hair still turquoise due to the Halloween incident. Following him were Sami and Isaac. The latter's face lit up when he saw the girl and rushed over to her, pushing past Kellyn, Keith and Kate.

"Melody!" he smiled, embracing the girl in a big hug "Melody what are you doing here?"

Kellyn raised an eyebrow. He hadn't seen Isaac so happy since Principle Lamont said they were getting new science books for the library. Which was also the only time Kellyn had seen Isaac happy.

"Isaac!" Melody grinned, her tears forgotten "I came to see you!"

"Melody, I told you not to come!" Isaac shook his head "Didn't I say you weren't allowed to leave Pueltown by yourself?"

"I'm sorry!" Melody looked miserable again "I just wanted to see you..."

"Melody..." Isaac sighed "You're just a little kid. That's why I worry about you so much." He then turned and smiled at his fellow students. "Melody, let me introduce you to my friends. Everyone, this is my little sister: Melody Iori."

"Nice to meet you" Sami smiled "My name is Samantha Regina. But Sami's fine with me."

"I'm Ponte Ronko" the turquoise-haired boy smiled "Good to meet the little sister Isaac's always going on about."

"Hi, I'm Keith Dazaru!" Keith grinned and pointed at himself with his thumb "Best capturer in all of Ranger School."

Everyone else sighed and/or rolled their eyes.

"Also biggest loser in Ranger School" Kate put in, then smiled at Melody "Hello there! My name is Kate Hitomi. And this is Kellyn Solluna." She looped an arm around the aforementioned boy's shoulders. Kellyn mutely waved at her, and Melody copied. She seemed a little uncomfortable.

"Melody, I'm not angry with you any more" Isaac told her "Thank you for coming to meet me. I'll take you back to Pueltown on the way to the Ranger Union."

The two siblings sent them identical half-smiles before they crossed the bridge and headed down the path west.

"Bye-bye Big Brother's friends!" Melody called back to them.

"I think that's our cue to leave" Sami declared.

"Yeah, we're heading to Pueltown with them" Ponte added "Catch you folks later!"

The two of them quickly chased after Isaac and his sister.

"We have to get a move on too" Keith urged the remaining few.

"Yeah, it'll look really bad if we're late" Kate nodded "Let's see if we can make it to Vientown without finding a Hoppip stuck in a tree or something."

* * *

><p>Against all the odds, the three of them made it to the Vientown Ranger Base without any other distractions. The base was a big circle shape with what appeared to be a tree or a bush growing on top of it.<p>

"This must be the place" Keith approached the glass door that whizzed open automatically as he stood in front of them, scaring the living daylight out of him.

"Oh great Arceus!" Kate squeaked "My heart is starting to pound! How are you feeling?"

Kellyn pointed at her and nodded to say 'the same'. He could practically hear his own heartbeat echoing in his ears.

"Hello! Anybody home?" Keith called, walking inside, casting the automatic doors once last suspicious glance.

Kate followed the other ginger inside, but Kellyn suddenly shivered. He felt like he was being watched. He turned and glared at the bush opposite the base, beside a little farm cottage. After a few seconds, he saw no movement.

"Come on Kellyn!" Kate called him. Kellyn looked one last time at the bush before heading inside.

There wasn't much in the base. It was mostly a green carpet with two counters at the end, a door in the far wall between the counters and a charging machine leaning against the right wall.

**It's awfully quiet. Is there anyone here?**

"Hello!" Kate called "We're here from ranger school! We're Kate, Kellyn and Keith! The 1-day interns!"

Silence.

"Don't suppose they'll mind if we use the charging machine do you?" Keith asked.

Kate grabbed his wrist, shaking her head frantically. "Keith! No!"

"They won't mind, we're their interns, aren't we?" Keith broke free and jammed his styler into the slot to charge. Then Kate and Kellyn quickly charged theirs, not looking Keith in the eye for fear of seeing his smug look.

"It's so quiet here" Keith commented "Ah well, soon to put an end to that." He cleared his throat. Kate and Kellyn covered their ears as if cued. "HELLO! ANYBODY HOME!"

"Keith! Good Latios! Cut it out!" Kate hissed.

**I'm already mute, and now thanks to you I'm deaf!**

"Oh sorry!" A female Operator with purple hair opened a door behind the right counter and noticed them. "I had to go and fetch something and didn't hear you."

"Near impossible, thanks to Keith" Kate muttered.

"You must be the students for the 1-day internship" the Operator commented as they walked over "Wait a minute. You girl - I know you."

"Yes, I stayed here for a week or so before going to Ranger School" Kate smiled at the recognition "I'm Kate."

"Kate, yes, I remember a Kate" the Operator nodded "And you two are?"

"I'm Keith" Keith answered "And this is Kellyn."

"Okay, I've got something for you here" the Operator placed a wicker basket on top of the counter. Keith slid it off the counter, then it dragged his arms down to the floor with its weight. Kate giggled, Kellyn holding back a squeak of laughter.

"Everyone's up on Breeze Hill, the cliff behind Nabiki Beach" the Operator went on "They had to handle a critical mission."

The three interns stared at each other, not sure what to make of _that_ announcement.

"Everyone had to go out on it?" Kate asked, sounding worried. And considering she was raised by half of Summerland Ranger Base, it had to be bad.

"Great Latios, that much be one whopper of a crisis!" Keith added, his eyes bulging out in alarm.

"Yes. Yes, it is" the Operator started to get chocked up "Some Bidoof... Oh, no! I can't force myself say it!" She gave a gasp of horror.

Kellyn inwardly groaned at the previous half-sentence. '_Not more Bidoof, haven't those things already had a chance to ruin our day_?'

"But anyway, our leader knew you three were coming and left a letter" the Operator went on "Let me read it to you." She unfolded a piece of paper and cleared her throat "'Welcome all of you! Here's a mission from the get-go! We've left an extremely important package with our operator. Bring it to Breeze Hill where we'll be waiting. Do NOT drop it, tip it on its side and above all DON'T TIP IT UPSIDE DOWN!'" The Operator gave their very confused faces a warm smile "So, off you go."

"Okay..." Kate raised both eyebrows "I know those guys do some strange stuff but..." She shook her head "Well let's go." She and Kellyn walked towards the doors. "Coming Keith?"

"Hang on just a sec!" Both turned to see Keith hunched over, dragging the 'Extremely heavy and important package' along the floor.

"Oh come here you big baby!" Kate marched over and gripped one wicker handle whilst Keith took the other. The two to them managed to lift it together and carry it towards the doors. Kellyn opened the glass doors for them, deciding not to help as he had the least physical strength out of the three of them (Keith had never let him live down the day Kate had beaten him in an arm-wrestling competition).

The three of them walked west out of the base, down some steps onto Nabiki beach where some swimmers were hanging out. Kellyn shivered at the idea of swimming in the early November weather, but nobody else seemed to mind.

"Keith! Stop jiggling the package!" Kellyn looked over his shoulder and saw Kate scolding Keith "Who knows what fragile item is in here!"

"Yeah, what heavy thing is in here exactly?" Keith asked "Maybe...a bomb!"

Kellyn raised an eyebrow.

**You seriously think these rangers would trust interns with a bomb?**

"Well, Crawford might do that, he's crazy enough for it" Kate commented to Kellyn's unease "I wouldn't put it too far past Barlow either. But the girls would hand in their stylers before they did something like that." Kellyn gave a sigh of relief. Kate sent him a smile, looking at him like he was the most adorable thing on the planet. "So I don't think it's a bomb."

"Well what it is then?" Keith groaned "It weighs a tonne!"

It took all three of them to carry the package up two flights of steps. Finally though they reached the top of Breeze Hill. Kellyn normally felt at ease upon the cliff, so many fond memories with Luke and Clio making him feel safe. But today the hilltop was taken up by a large red and white blanket, plus four people.

The first was a large dark-skinned man with magenta hair and the same coloured moustache. He was standing with a Makuhita. The second was the ranger from their Outdoor Class, Crawford, and his Budew. The third was a female ranger about a year older than them with long black hair. She was grooming a Buneary. Finally there was a woman who looked like a mechanic and had no partner Pokémon. She had brown hair and adorned a black headband.

"We made it! FINALLY!" Keith gasped as he and Kate stumbled to the top of the hill with the package. They set it on the ground and gave a sigh of relief.

"So, what do we do?" Kate asked.

**Go up there and introduce ourselves?**

"Sounds like an idea" Keith nodded.

He and Kate picked up the basket again and staggered over to the edge of the blanket before setting it down again, careful not to drop it.

"Ahoy there rangers!" Keith called. Everyone, even the Pokémon, jumped. They all looked at the three new arrivals.

"Kate!" beamed the two girls.

"Hi Luana, Elaine!" Kate waved at them. The oldest and most heavy-set man walked over to them, skirting around the edge of the blanket.

"Was that an 'Ahoy there' I heard?' he asked "Well, that's original. Last time we heard something like that was when Luana joined and said - Crawford..." He looked at Crawford who put on an Irish accent.

"Hello Luana... No! Sorry! I mean hello, my name is Luana" he recited, causing an explosion of laughter from the headband-wearing woman, a chuckle out of the eldest ranger and a glare from the black-haired girl who Kellyn presumed was the Luana they were all teasing.

"Well, it's natural to be nervous" the man sighed "After all, this is a key mission. So...the extremely important package. I fully expect it to be safe."

"Just take it!" Keith shoved the basket towards him "We can't carry it anymore!"

The man glared at Crawford. He demanded: "Crawford, how much did you force Luana to put in there?"

"Why me?" Crawford threw up his hands in defence "It was Elaine who was insisting upon bringing so many!"

"Oh please Crawford!" the headband-wearing woman shook her head "We all know it's you who has a bottomless pit in your stomach!"

"Okay, settle down, as long as the package is in one piece" the man stopped a possible fight breaking out. The woman picked the package up with ease, to the astonishment of Kate and Keith "Be careful with it. One shake and it ka-pow!"

The three interns gulped nervously.

"Okay everyone!" the woman called them over "Gather round! Lunch is here!"

"Yeah! Chow time!" Crawford and Luana practically tore up the grass with their heels as they raced over to the blanket and sat down. The interns blinked in bewilderment. Then the woman unloaded the basket, filled with sandwiches, drinks and salad!

"Ha ha! The stunned looks on your faces!" Crawford laughed, grabbing a tuna sandwich "You remember me? Crawford from Outdoor Class? Sorry I had to cut that class short for the sake of that mission."

"It's fine" Kate smiled "How is the Mantine?"

"It's fine, we released it back into the ocean last week after a full recovery" smiled Luana in a much more realistic Irish accent than the one Crawford had imitated "My name is Luana, the newest ranger here. I fell for that prank last year, but when I brought the package I'd jiggled it about and the food was all mushy. The orange juice had spilt all over the ham sandwiches and Crawford gave me no end of grief about it!"

"I wouldn't worry Luana, you're not the first to fail that test" smiled the man who was now at the head of the blanket, then turning to the interns "Good work the three of you. The mission's cleared. The name's Barlow. I'm the leader of this here ranger base. And this is my partner Pokémon, Makuhita." The Pokémon called out its name in greeting.

'_**Hello there**_' it said in a gruff voice.

'_Nice to meet you_' Kellyn smiled mentally, startling the Makuhita temporality.

"Oh, there's another thing" Barlow added "This whole prank thing wasn't my idea. Crawford thought it up."

Crawford choked on a celery stick and Luana had to give him a big pat on the back to dislodge it.

"That's not fair, Leader!" the Afro-bearing ranger complained "You're the one who was going on about what a great idea it was!"

"Okay boys, break it up before Crawford chokes on something else" the headband-wearing woman put in, then looking at the interns "Hi there. I'm not a ranger, I'm a mechanic. My name is Elaine, but don't worry if you can't remember all our names at once."

"You all remember me, I'm Kate" Kate smiled, sitting down next to Elaine.

"Of course we know you little troublemaker!" Elaine ruffled her ginger hair "But who are your friends?"

"Um, uh, I'm Keith" Keith finally stammered a sentence.

**Pleased to meet you, my name is Kellyn**

Kate read Kellyn's message out since Keith was having a nervous breakdown.

"Wait, yes, I remember you two" Crawford nodded, pointing at Keith "You're the boy who wanted to ask me a thousand questions. And you're the mute child who..." He broke off as he shifted his gaze to Kellyn, eyes almost teasing and it was clear he remembered _exactly_who Kellyn was.

"I wish I could have my own partner Pokémon someday" Kate sighed, distracting everyone before Crawford could completely embarrass Kellyn "Maybe a Pacharisu. They're one of my favourite Pokémon."

"I like Buizel" Keith said in such a hurry Kellyn had to concentrate to hear what he was saying.

"Well, you'll be able to after you graduate" Barlow informed them.

"But that's ages away!" Keith whined.

'_Now that's the Keith we all know and hate_' Kellyn smiled as he thought that.

"Oh, starting to feel at ease now?" Barlow smiled "Sorry for tricking you three like that. It's become a tradition for us."

"Okay, enough introductions" Crawford said "Please finish Leader so we can eat our lunch without having to concentrate on what everyone's saying!"

Barlow sighed. "Crawford is there anything you won't eat?"

"Yes" answered Crawford matter-of-factly "Bread when Elaine has put it in the toaster."

Everyone, even Elaine, laughed at that.

"Okay, let's get down to it" Barlow nodded "Let's give our trainee-rangers their welcome lunch."

"You two boys can sit down now" Kate giggled as she told her fellow classmates. The two sat down at the unoccupied end of the blanket.

Keith immediately felt right at home in his natural habit, a plate of food, but Kellyn was still feeling nervous. He reached towards a bowl of crisps, then drew his hand back and looked at it hesitantly.

"It's fine Kellyn, you have as much as you want" Luana smiled warmly at him "After all, nothing's stopping your friend."

Keith and Crawford were apparently in the middle of an eating competition.

"The food's great!" Crawford cheered between mouthfuls "Much better than last year's!"

"Well am I glad to hear that!" Elaine laughed.

"Guys! Stop it!" Luana protested, then turning back to Kellyn "You came through Nabiki beach right?"

**Me and my friend Luke used to come through here all the time, before I started school**

"I see" Luana nodded "That beach is where I met my partner Pokémon Buneary." She gestured at the rabbit Pokémon eat a lettuce leaf "Your Ranger School uniform, it brings back fond memories..."

**You went to school with Crawford and Elaine**

"Yes" Luana nodded "Elaine had to stay behind for an extra two years as she studied to be a mechanic - it's common for them. And Crawford started a year late because he transferred from Jhoto. So we became classmates and friends. I was lucky to have them, I don't know if I would have made it through Ranger School without them."

**I don't know what I'd do without Keith, Rhythmi and Kate**

"Yeah" Luana agreed "Friends during school are important. Believe me."

"Heeeeelp!" Everyone startled as a man in a T-shirt and swimming trunks came racing up the stairs towards them "Rangers! Somebody help us!"

* * *

><p>In the bushes, a small Pokémon gave a snigger.<p>

'_Try this on for size Hero of Almia_!' She thought '_If you can keep a level head through this, I may see for myself exactly what Lunick meant._'


	12. Eclipse of the Dark Moon

**"So, you knew Lunick?"**

**"****What excuse can I give him without ending up in half a year's worth of detentions?!"**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Twelve – Eclipse of the Dark Moon**

"Help! Rangers!" A man in a blue T-shirt and brown swimming trunks stopped at the top of the steps leading to the top of Breeze Hill. Everyone, even Crawford who still had a sandwich halfway to his mouth, looked at the man.

"Po-Pokémon have gone wild!" he cried. Barlow rushed over to him.

"What seems to be the matter?" he asked in a surprisingly calm voice.

"W-We were down by the beach when the Pokémon there started acting mean!" explained the man in a panicky tone "They've surrounded my girlfriend and won't let her go!"

All the rangers looked at each other, alarmed.

"Okay, I get the picture" Barlow nodded "We'll handle it from here." He turned to the rangers "It's an emergency mission! We're taking a break from lunch! To Nabiki beach! Move it!"

Elaine and Luana got up at once, but Crawford was trying to cram as much lunch as possible into a big bowl to take with him. Luana sighed, snatched the bowl from him, set it down and then dragged him to his feet.

"Nabiki Beach! Now!" she hissed with her Irish accent.

"But my food!" Crawford cried, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"You can finish it later!" Luana sighed "Now come on!"

Beside Kellyn, the same thing was happening with Keith and Kate.

"Wait for me my triple-decker beef, cheese and crisps sandwich!" Keith cried like a two-year-old being dragged away from their favourite toy.

"Our first real mission!" Kate squeaked "Let's go guys!"

They followed the rangers down the steps to the cliff that overlooked Nabiki Beach. The man was practically dancing on the spot whilst looking at some Pokémon encircling a woman in a bikini.

"We have to clean this mess up!" Barlow ordered "Crawford, you and I will take the Shellos duo. Luana, you take the Starly. Interns, you take whatever's left. Got it?"

"Roger!" Everyone agreed, rushing down the steps onto the beach. Kellyn was about to follow when he one again got the shivers. He spun around saw a white tail vanishing into a bush.

'_Is that a Pokémon_?' he asked himself '_It could be injured. I'd better check it out._'

He stepped over the bushes and walked into the dense forest. After a minute of skirting around bushes and trees, he found a sort of track he could follow. Another minute later he reached a large tree. It had fallen over and was completely blocking the path. Kellyn paused. A Poké Assist could clear it, but he didn't have any Pokémon. It was too heavy for him to lift, physically anyway...

'_This'll hurt, but I have no choice_' he told himself '_That Pokémon could be injured, or suffering from whatever those beach Pokémon are_.'

He took a deep breath and allowed his eyes to turn blue-white. The log was surrounded by a white light before it slowly rose into the air. Kellyn gasped as he felt his strength drain and his head felt like it had been placed inside a washing machine.

'_Come on_! _You can do this_!'

He took another deep breath and focused as the log slowly turned so it was parallel with the path. Then Kellyn fell to his knees, gasping for air, as it crashed to the ground, startling several Starly from their trees in the process. He just knelt there for a few seconds, trying to get his breath back, before standing up and walking into a clearing. He then stopped dead, his mouth hanging open and his blue-green eyes wide. Lying on a rock in the centre of the clearing, licking its paw, was an Espeon. There was something noticeably different about it though. For one, it was smaller than most Espeon, more Eevee-sized. Then it had dark blue eyes rather than purple, and it's jewel on it's forehead above its eyes was about the same shade of cobalt as them. Though the thing that took Kellyn's breath away was its coat. It was completely snow-white!

'W-Who are you?' He took a breath.

The Espeon stopped licking its paw and looked at him with its cobalt eyes.

"_**You do not remember me, Kellyn?**_" she asked, it was apparently female "_**Oh, of course not. I forgot, you were a mere hatchling back then.**_"

_'We've met before_?' Kellyn asked '_What's your name_?'

"_**My name?**_" the Espeon cocked her head to one side slightly "_**My name is Eclipse of the Dark Moon, although I think you'll find it easier for you to call me Luna.**_"

'_Luna_?' Kellyn pressed '_How do you know me_?'

Luna sat up, a single ray of sunlight hitting her back and making her coat sparkle like silver sequins.

"_**I have know you since you were a hatchling**_" she explained "_**I knew your brother very well. His most famous partner Pokémon was Minun, but I was there also. I was beside him when the Go-Rock Quads tried to take Fiore, I was beside him when the Ringtown Base almost burned to a cinder that stormy night during the Great War, I was beside him when the secret base went into self-destruct mode, and I was beside him when the Legendary dog trio bore down upon him. The two of us were always there for each other.**_"

'_So, you knew Lunick_?' Kellyn asked '_You were like a partner Pokémon to him_?'

"_**Discreetly, only he, Solana and eventually Spenser knew about me. But yes, his trusted partner**_" Luna nodded "_**Which is why I'm here.**_"

Luna stood up, stretched, and then trotted forward so she stopped about three metres away from Kellyn.

"_**Every person with a gift like yours has an unusually coloured Eeveelution**_" she explained "_**Each of these Eeveelutions has a single child in their lifetime, to pass onto the next generation of human. We're supposed to help humans like you control your powers, but personally I see us more as friends for when the going gets tough. That's what Lunick always saw me as.**_"

'_I see, so like Partner Pokémon_' Kellyn said. Then he knelt down so he was more level with Luna '_Well, Eclipse of the Dark Moon, or Luna, would you like to be my Partner Pokémon_?'

Luna rushed over to him and pressed her nose into his palm. She said in a teasing tone: "_I think that would be most pleasant sir_."

'_Wait one moment then_' Kellyn stood and removed his styler '_Capture...on_!'

It was the longest capture Kellyn had ever done, but that was only because Luna was the highest-level Pokémon he had ever captured. She didn't move, only blinked and swished her tail as he captured her, although they were a few heart-stopping moments when her forked tail would flick excruciatingly close to the capture line.

'_Capture complete_' Kellyn caught the capture disk as it came flying back to him.

Luna blinked again. "_**Was that really necessary?**_"

'_Well if some mind-controlling bad guys try to capture wild Pokémon, I don't want to risk loosing you_' Kellyn answered.

Luna blinked, then shook herself and leapt up, sinking her claws into the hem of Kellyn's green school jacket. Then she scrambled up onto his shoulder and rubbed her face against his cheek. Kellyn smiled and patted the top of her head between her ears.

'_So, ready to meet my friends_?' he asked, turning towards the exit to the clearing.

"_**Well, what are they like?**_" asked Luna. Kellyn winced as when he moved her claws sank into his jumper and gazed against his skin.

'_Well, Kate's the one you might get along with best, she's quite normal_' Kellyn told her, setting off down the track he had come down before '_Then there's Keith, he's a little...hyper...and unorthodox. Not as unorthodox as Ponte though._'

By the time they reached the beach, Kellyn had managed to outline most of the students at Ranger School. As they walked down the steps to where the rangers were, Luna hopped down from his shoulder and walked alone whilst sticking as close to Kellyn's leg as possible.

"...Let's release these Pokémon" Barlow finished. He and Crawford released two pink Shellos, Luana released a Starly, Keith a rather fitting Munchlax and Kate a Pacharisu.

"Oh hi Kel!" Keith smiled as he saw his fellow ranger approaching "Don't wander off like that. We were worried about..." He broke off and his jaw dropped "WHOA! Where in the world did you find THAT?" He jumped up and down on the spot several times as he pointed at Luna.

The white Espeon hid behind Kellyn's leg. "_**He's creepy!**_"

'_Don't worry, Keith won't hurt you, unless you wake him up early on a Saturday_' Kellyn smiled at her '_He's the hyper and unorthodox one._'

"_**Oh**_" Luna nodded slightly.

Kate knelt down and held her hand out to Luna. Cautiously, the unusually-coloured Pokémon took a step forwards and sniffed Kate's palm. She then gave a squeak of delight and began rubbing her cheek again the girl's palm.

"So cute!" Kate squealed, then looking at Kellyn "Where did you find her?" Kellyn gestured at the woods on top of the cliff "Does she have a name?"

**Her name is Luna**

"You've given her a name?" Keith asked, walking over "Is she like a Partner Pokémon or something?"

"That's impossible unfortunately" Barlow shook his head "As you're still students, you can't have Partner Pokémon yet. But she can follow you until you get to Ranger School if she wants to."

Kellyn signalled the others over and underlined something he had written prior to arriving.

**I thought she could just stay in the school grounds until graduation. As long as she's not in the school building, it should be okay, shouldn't it?**

"I guess" Kate nodded in a low voice "We'd better not tell anyone though. Well, maybe Rhythmi, but that's it. If we tell everyone about her they'll wanna try and find her, and then that'll alert the teachers and if they find her..." Kate shuddered "So, just between the four of us, okay?"

"Oh goodie!" whispered Keith excitedly "I love secrets!"

"You just love secrets so you can spill them!" Kate hissed.

**Yeah, just like new rules. You love them because you can break them!**

Keith snorted, folded his arms and shook his head.

"Rangers!" The man and his girlfriend walked over to the ground of rangers and trainees "Thank you for saving my girlfriend!"

"We heard some strange noises form the sea" his girlfriend explained "We noticed a big cargo ship disappear over the horizon. And then suddenly I was surrounded by Pokémon. I think the Pokémon were startled by the cargo ship."

"Well, whatever happened, I'm glad to see your safe" Barlow said, then turning to his rangers "Crawford, Luana, sweep the beach and made sure no Pokémon are still confused."

The two rangers nodded and saluted before setting off down the beach.

"Keith, Kate, Kellyn, good work" Barlow told them "Thanks in no small part to you three, we managed to calm the Pokémon around Nabiki beach down. In the world of rangers, we call it a Mission Clear!"

"Oh! This is where we do the cool ranger poses isn't it?" Keith beamed. He performed a somersault, threw his styler into the air and caught it again. He then released the capture wand and held it in front of him like it was some kind of sword.

"Oh! I wanna a piece of that!" Kate beamed. She quickly twirled before standing on one leg, holding her Styler up above her head and letting the capture wand activate, smiling the whole time.

'_Guess it's my turn_' Kellyn thought. He jumped up, doing a flip in mid-air before landing and throwing his Styler up, releasing the capture wand. Beside him, Luna also performed a mid-air flip before landing and posing on three paws with her marble tail arched above her back.

"Well I'll be! You've already got your own ranger poses!" Barlow laughed "They looked good too. Anyway..." He put on a straight face again "Alright people! We need to head back to the Ranger Base!"

He was just setting off when he suddenly realised something.

"Ah! We have to clean up that mess we made on top of Breeze Hill!" he remembered in a panic "Keith, Kate and Kellyn, you guys head back to Base without us. We'll clean up to apologise for that prank we pulled earlier."

"We will?" Three voices cried from various places on the beach.

"Yes! We will!" Barlow growled to his three complaining teammates, jogging down the beach towards Breeze Hill "Sundown's coming people! Let's move it!"

Keith and Kate laughed as they saw Crawford and Elaine's disappointed faces. But they laughed even harder when Luana pushed the two of them up the hill and said:

"Cheer up Crawford. If you want, you can be in charge of cleaning the dishes to put in the basket."

Crawford immediately looked excited and Kellyn knew Crawford needed no other instrument to clean dishes other than his big mouth.

* * *

><p>"That Hastings guy is so hilarious!" Keith laughed as they walked down the path towards Ranger School.<p>

"Keith, seriously!" Kate shook her head and sighed "He's a really important professor at the Ranger Union!"

"Could've fooled me" Keith snorted with amusement "I thought he was a comedian!" Kate groaned and hid her head in her hands "Sorry! It's just the way he called Rhythmi Misery! I almost burst a gut trying not to laugh!"

As Keith tried to keep a straight face at Kate's scolding, Kellyn was walking a few metres behind them. He had Luna curled around his shoulders as he patted the top of her snow-white head between her ears, her indigo eyes closed in contentment. He was starting to understand why people like Ash and Red like to carry Pokémon, or in both those cases Pikachus, on their shoulders. It was a comforting feeling - a feeling you were never alone.

'_Stupid school rules not allowing us to be partners_' Kellyn thought as he kicked a rock into the grass at the side of the path.

"_**It's only until July**_" Luna reminded him "_**But why do I have to sleep outside exactly?**_"

'_Huh_?' Kellyn looked at her, confused.

"_**Why do I have to sleep outside?**_" she asked "_**It's cold, wet, damp and just generally not nice.**_"

'_You're a wild Pokémon though, you ought to be used to sleeping outside_?'

"_**I don't sleep outside. I find dens in hollow logs, caves and old Pichu nests in tree trunks.**_"

'_So why can't you do that here_?'

"_**It's not as simple at that Hatchling! Those were only temporary stays, a day or two at the most! In order to find a long-term den you have to find a suitable one, battle any previous Pokémon out of it, prepare it for living circumstances and find ways to defend to against other wild Pokémon! Do you have any idea how annoying it is when a Mightyena smashes into your den and completely wrecks it if he doesn't take it for himself?**_"

'_Um...bad I guess_.'

"_**Bad! It's infuriating! It's like a giant coming crashing into your home and wrecking it! And for a small Pokémon like me, finding dens and defending them is like climbing Mt Cornet!**_"

'_Aren't other Pokémon, like...afraid of you? With you being white and all._'

"_**Pokémon don't care if your white, pink, purple or blue. You're a threat and that's that. Shiny does nought for ya'.**_"

'_Ah, that's rough_.'

"_**That the reality of wild Pokémon, kiddo. You have no idea.**_"

Kellyn sighed and kicked another rock, but this time it rolled down the side of the hill next the fast approaching bridge and made a 'plop' sound in the water.

'_You didn't have to come with me you know._'

"_**I know. But I wanted to, and still do. This way I'm also fulfilling my promise to Lunick.**_"

Kellyn stopped for a split second upon hearing his older brother's name spoken so freely. Then he remembered Luna would have been unlikely to be afraid of Lunick during the Great War and probably wouldn't say his name in a fear tone.

'_You really cared about him, didn't you_?'

"_**We were best of friends. We did everything together, even if I had to spend a lot of time under the protection of his invisibility abilities. Even then that was great training.**_"

'_Training_?'

"_**Lunick didn't learn how to use his psychic abilities overnight. It took years of training between the two of us. But he was a remarkably fast learner, and a good friend. I felt his death all the way from Fiore. The Pokémon there said it took me weeks to recover.**_"

'_Uh-huh_' Kellyn kicked his foot against the wooden bridge.

"_**You're a lot like him you know.**_"

Kellyn came to an abrupt halt and stared at Luna out of the corner of his blue-green eyes.

"_**You're a lot like him. I put that log you moved in your path on purpose, to test your abilities. I doubt Lunick could move such a big object without training. It possible you could grow to be as good as him, or even better.**_"

Luna gave a long sigh.

"_**Maybe all that stuff Lunick said was true. Maybe you really could be the Hero of Almia.**_"

There was a suspense-holding pause between the two of them.

'_What is that_?' Kellyn asked finally. He held his breath as Luna leapt off his shoulder and trotted a few steps ahead. Then she ruined it all by looking back at him and winking.

"_**Not a clue.**_"

Then she trotted after the still arguing Keith and Kate. Kellyn snorted dismissively as he walked behind them, uncharacteristically jamming his hands in his pockets.

'_Some help you're gonna be._'

* * *

><p>"Kellyn!" Keith hopped out of bed and called to his bunk-mate "Kellyn! Come on! Rise and shine! It's a Thursday!" He got no reply.<p>

"You know what's first period on a Thursday!" Keith grinned "Reading period! So I can choose between sleeping or secretly reading a comic! My favourite pass-times minus eating and showing off!"

He still got no reply. Keith frowned. Since when did Kellyn ignore him like this? He didn't like being ignored.

"Kel-lyn! Wake up!" When Keith still got no reply, he partially climbed the ladder to see what was going on. He smiled at what he saw.

Kellyn was fast asleep, his arm around Luna who was circled up, also asleep, almost under the duvet near his head. The small window beside Kellyn's bed was partially open, highlighting Luna's entrance.

"Ah, maybe reading period can survive without you for a while" Keith told the sleeping boy before climbing back down the ladder. He walked out of the dorm and then froze.

"Mr Kincaid's supervising reading period today!" he gasped out loud "What excuse can I give him without ending up in half a year's worth of detentions?!" He panicked.

"Kate will be able to think of something" he decided.

Kate would be in the canteen finishing breakfast. He quickly rushed down the stairs towards the school building's door, noticing he had left his green jacket back at the dorm and his yellow tie was only half on.

"Keith Dazaru! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT RUNNING IN THE HALLWAYS!"

Looks like he'd be facing Mr Kincaid a lot sooner than he thought.


	13. A stormy story time

**"Keith's not my crush! He's not even my dog!"**

**"****Leave Kate with a screwdriver and fuse box, and you'll have a field day." **

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Thirteen – A stormy story time**

Storms were common in Almia in late November, everyone knew that. Everyone knew this was about the time when Suicune, the Pokémon of the north wind, and Raikou, the Pokémon of lightning, liked to have massive arguments from everything from territorial disputes to who was Ho-oh's favourite on top of the Hia Mountains. They also knew that there was never an eruption in Boyleland at this time of year as Entei preferred to stay out the way of his quarrelling siblings. This all adds up to tornadoes, thunder storms and power cuts. Especially power cuts.

"Power cut!" Liam's impossibly loud voice woke Keith from his much-appreciated sleep. He yelped as he realised the entire dorm had been thrown into darkness - even Ponte's strangely reassuring although very-much pathetic night-light was off.

"Oh not again!" Keith groaned, sitting up groggily, whacking his head on the bottom of the top bunk in the process "Ow! Last time this happened last year that nervous wreak Neville peed the bed, and he was on the top bunk!"

Silence.

"Er...thanks for that comment Keith" said Liam awkwardly from somewhere "So, let's try and keep calm, not loose our heads and..." At that moment the dorm's door slammed shut "AHHHHH! What was that?!"

"Isaac just went out" Ponte answered weirdly calmly. Maybe he was in shock. "Probably went to find help."

"Er...yeah, I knew that" Liam recovered himself "We ought to find the teachers too, try and get this problem fixed. So, has anyone got a torch?"

"I have." Keith heard the sound of Nick climbing down the ladder from his bunk. Then a cone of yellow light emanated in the darkness, catching Nick's face in it's light.

"Alright then" Liam stood up and also appeared in the ray of light cast by Nick's torch "Us two will go for help. Everyone else, stay put."

"Who died and made you leader?" Keith snorted.

Liam ignored him and he and Nick left the room, the door slamming behind them at the exact time thunder crashed overhead.

"Eeeeek!" Ponte shrieked "Guys! Don't leave me alone! Wait for me!"

Forgetting the fact he still had Keith and Kellyn in the dorm with him, the perpetually turquoise-haired boy stood up and turned on his tiny pocket torch. The tiny metal cylinder object cast a beam of blue light the size of a laser beam across the dorm before the door opened and then slammed shut for a third time.

Keith sighed to himself, wondering how he managed to get himself into fixes like this constantly. Take last January's snowstorm for instance: he didn't mean to get trapped in the snow-drift-surrounded cafeteria. And that October he hadn't locked Mr Kincaid's classroom door so he could tear up the oh-so-important papers - he'd locked it to stop the Bibarrel doing the aforementioned deed from escaping as he captured it. He should have earned a gold star for his capture, instead he got a week's detention, and only because Miss April had been there to force Mr Kincaid to commute his sentence from suspension.

"Fate really has it in for me" he groaned.

"Espe?" A little white head with a glow of blue on it hung down from the bunk above. Keith was about to scream when he realised it was only Luna. The white Espeon's blue jewel on her forehead was glowing a pretty cobalt colour and functioning as a torch.

"Oh, Luna, it's only you" Keith gave a sigh of relief "Is Kellyn okay?"

Luna gave a whimper and disappeared. Keith blinked and fumbled around for his torch. Switching it on and holding it between his teeth, he climbed the ladder and peered over the edge of Kellyn's bed.

"E-en?" He asked, then removed the torch from his teeth so he could speak properly "Kellyn? You awake buddy?"

He shone the torch into his friend. Luna was standing on Kellyn's chest, desperately nudging his face. The mute boy was apparently asleep, but he was trembling.

"Kel?" Keith started to feel concerned "What's wrong? Kellyn!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>'<strong>__What is this place? Where am I__**?'**_

_**Kellyn looked about in confusion. What was this place? Just an endless expanse of brown, no ceiling or walls. A thick layer of fog swirled around his ankles, making to impossible to see the ground.**_

_**'**__What is this__**?**__ Why am I here__**?'**_

_**"**_**You are here because I had Darkrai bring you here.**_**"**_

_**Kellyn jumped as a deep voice answered his question. Slowly, a Pokémon began to materialise from the fog in front of him. A great red and black serpentine creature with golden spikes and two huge black wings. Kellyn almost died of shock.**_

_**'**__G-Giratina__**?' he stuttered. The Renegade Pokémon nodded its head.**_

_**"**_**And you're the one who they refer to as Kellyn, am I correct**_**?" Giratina asked. Its mouth didn't move, the words just seemed to appear in Kellyn's head. Telepathy.**_

_**Too stunned to reply, Kellyn just nodded his head.**_

_**"**_**Good, I bring a message for you**_**" Giratina said, but then started mumbling "**_**I can't believe the nerve! One of Arceus' own generals demoted to being a messenger! Darkrai and Cresseila are supposed to be the ones in charge of dreams! But no, those idiots have to go and have their fight in Canalave City! All because Jirachi is asleep again and Celebi got herself stuck in the Cretaceous period so Dialga has to go and rescue her, and Mew and Palkia have developed a new video-gaming obsession and refuse to leave the television alone...**_**!" He went into more of a mumble but it was too low for a very baffled Kellyn to make out.**_

_**'**__E-Excuse me__**?' he asked after a few minutes of extensive mumbling '**Um...What was the message**?' **_

_**Giratina blinked. **__**"**_**Message? Oh right!**_**" The legendary Pokémon flicked its tail "**_**You may have noticed the meteors that have been falling near Almia lately.**_**" Kellyn nodded "**_**On one of these meteors was a Deoxys, one that brought a message, a prophecy for Arceus. And now one of the inhabitants of my domain has come to understand it, and wishes for you to know it.**_**"**_

_**'**__Someone from your realm__**?' Kellyn blinked '**__What is it__**?' **_

_**The Renegade Pokémon gave off it's signature cry, making Kellyn jump, before answering.**_

_**"**_**A howling gale will save our worlds, the sun and moon will continue to protect them, a pale-furred guardian shall bring a new beginning to all worlds**_**" Giratina bowed its head slightly "**_**The rest is in your hands now.**_**" **_

_**Without a word more, the legendary Pokémon faded into shadows that crumbled away into the endless expanse of brown.**_

_**'**__Giratina, wait__**!' Kellyn cried as the brown slowly turned to black '**__What do you mean__**? **__GIRATINA__**!'**_

* * *

><p>"Kellyn! Wake up Kellyn!" Keith shook the younger boy's arm in a vain attempt to arouse him. Suddenly Kellyn shot up into a sitting position, giving a terrified squeak. Using his arms as support, he just sat there, his unusually high panting blocking out the annoyed yelling of Luna who had been sent flying off the bunk as he sat up.<p>

"Kellyn?" Keith asked, getting his friend's attention "You okay?"

Kellyn nodded.

"Nightmare?"

Kellyn paused, as if uncertain, then nodded.

'_Was it just a nightmare_?' he asked himself _'Surely, I mean, why would Giratina come and speak to me_?' He bit his lip '_A howling gale will save our worlds, the sun and moon will continue to protect them, a pale-furred guardian shall bring a new beginning to all worlds_.'

"Stay here" Keith commanded before ducking down below the bunk.

'_A howling gale will save our worlds_?' Kellyn wondered '_A howling gale...a tornado_? _Or a hurricane_?_Hurricane - Hayate_! _Spencer Hayate_! _Well, everyone's heard of Spencer's adventures with the other three Fiore leaders before he became Ringtown's ranger base leader. Sun and moon will continue to protect them. That one's obvious - Solana and Lunick. And a pale-furred guardian will bring a new beginning to all worlds_...?' Something dawned on him as the silence was interrupted by loud complaining from the floor '_Luna_! _She's got white fur_! _But, a new beginning_...?' He sighed '_I don't understand. What does this all have to do with me_?'

"Here" Keith reappeared and sat on the top rung of the ladder holding half a chocolate bar out to his mute friend "Always makes me feel better."

Kellyn smiled and took the half-a-chocolate bar from his friend, unwrapping it slightly is he could bite off a chunk. Automatically he felt better. He shot Keith a 'thank you' smile.

"Don't mention it" Keith grinned "Just expect to have to deliver in the future. Maybe in the form of answers to the questions of the next test."

Kellyn rolled his eyes. Why did Keith seem to believe he had 200 IQ? Surely Isaac would be better to study with. Oh wait, Isaac didn't appear to like Keith anymore. Well, Keith's loss.

Kellyn pointed at Keith's torch and then the dorm's main light, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Power cut" answered Keith.

Lightning flashed outside the window and thunder rumbled overhead. Kellyn quickly grabbed onto Keith's arm, the older boy flinching at the strength of his friend's grip.

"You don't like thunder storms?" Keith asked.

Kellyn shook his head, his eyes wide and terrified. He'd never been good with thunder storms, he wasn't sure why. It was one of his few phobias. In order to distract himself, Kellyn pointed at the other bunks.

"Nick and Liam went to find some help" Keith explained "Ponte went to panic somewhere and Isaac...he probably went to the library to look for a book called '1000 safety hazards to watch out for in a power cut'."

Kellyn snorted with laughter, letting go of Keith's arm, and stroked an annoyed Luna's head as she crawled up the bunkbed's support beam and stood on the duvet glaring at him. Automatically the white Espeon calmed down, well, after a belly scratch.

**So it's just us?**

He wrote the message in the light that Luna's jewel was emitting.

"Yup" Keith nodded "Just us two."

As if cued, the door swung open and banged against the wall, making Keith jump so high he hit the ceiling and then landed on the floor. Kellyn expected one of the boys to be standing there, but instead he saw two girls. Kate and Rhythmi to be exact, in pyjamas, their hair down and frizzy, holding two torches in front of them.

"Uh, hi girls" Keith groaned, rubbing the back of his head that had previously hit the floor "What are you doing in here?"

"Escaping" Rhythmi answered "The others girls are all shrieking about the Apocalypse, and Becs is threatening to knock them all into next Thursday if they don't pack it in. And something about Supernatural - I lost them at that."

"The two of us wanted out" Kate added. Kellyn found himself staring at her hair. Out of those silly spiky pigtails it just reached her shoulders and was actually very pretty. He quickly shook his head and told himself to stop staring at Kate. If Luna and/or Keith figured out what he was doing they'd give him no end of grief about it.

"You can come in, it's just Kel and I" Keith let them in, although the girls had already seemed to have made themselves at home.

Rhythmi shivered, rubbing her arms to keep warm."It's freezing in here!"

"No heating - go figure" Keith told her.

A little lightbulb seemed to flick on above Kate's head. "Hold on, everyone sit in a circle on the floor"

A little quizzical, Kellyn grabbed his notebook, pen and torch before sitting on the rug in the middle of the dorm. Rhythmi and Keith followed suit. Then, without any warning at all, Kate grabbed Keith's duvet and threw it over the top of them.

"Huh? What?" Keith cried "Kate, what gives? What are you...?" Kellyn quickly covered Keith mouth to allow Kate to explain. Once Gabby-Keith got on a roll, he never stopped.

It here was a pause of about four seconds before the duvet rustled and a corner of it lifted off the ground. Kate crawled in - followed by Luna who took position in Kellyn's lap - and sat between Kellyn and Rhythmi as they all sat in a sort of small circle.

"Keith, I know you slept through science but here's the baby's version" she sighed, holding her torch beneath her chin so dark shadows flickered across her face "Our bodies create warmth that usually escapes into the cold air and looses its heat. However, under here, the duvet stops the heat from escaping, so it stays in here and keeps us warm. Got it?"

"Sort of" Keith closed one brown eye in concentration, trying very hard to get his incredibly small brain around the idea of physics.

There was a painful silence for a minute or two. Kellyn couldn't help but wonder how awkward it would be for someone to walk in to find two girls and two boys sitting under a duvet in the middle of the dorm in pyjamas in the middle of a thunder storm.

The first time someone moved was when thunder crashed outside and a stroke of lightning illuminated the dorm. Kellyn squeaked with fear and clutched onto Kate's arm. After his racing heart had calmed down he went red with embarrassment and let go.

"Raikou's really bringing down the house tonight, huh?" Kate commented.

"_**You're telling me sister**_" Luna yawned and rolled onto her back in Kellyn's lap.

Another awkward silence.

"So, Kate" Keith tried to start a conversation "For the record, who do you like better? Me or Kellyn?"

"Kellyn" answered Kate immediately "Not even close."

Kellyn snorted with laughter at the blunt response. Keith looked gobsmacked.

"Kate!" Rhythmi complained "You can't choose between your school crushes just yet! Where's the excitement in that? You've gotta draw them out, leave 'em hanging!"

Kellyn stopped laughing as both boys just stared at Rhythmi with worried looks. When since did Miss oh-so-sweet Blondie starting thinking devious like this?

"Keith is not my crush!" Kate folded her arms "Not even my annoying immature little brother. Not even my dog." She looked thoughtful "If my little brother had a dog and his dog had a crush and that dog's crush had a pet - now that would be Keith."

Kellyn silently laughed so hard he began rolling on the floor with laughter. Rhythmi also started laughing at Keith's angry but shocked reaction.

"Good one Kate!" Rhythmi finally stopped laughing "But you're wrong about the dog's crush's pet bit. Keith is far more trouble then a dog's pet."

"Hey!" Keith complained, putting his hand on his hips "What is this, 'Let's all gang up on Keith' night?"

**No Keith, we all just generally don't like you and find joy in watching you suffer**

Keith grunted at Kellyn's response, folding his arms.

"I don't know, Keith's not as bad as some previous students" Kate pointed out "Remember Crawford? And Elaine; plus their little tag-along Luana." She grinned like she was remembering the funniest memory in her life "And then there's Spenser of course."

"Spenser?" Rhythmi blinked "As in Spenser Hayate? Since when was he a trouble maker?"

"Less trouble maker, more continuously hyper" Kate explained "My older brother Percy is a ranger in Summerland in Fiore. His base leader, Cameron, is an old classmate of Spenser's and loves telling the whole base embarrassing stories about poor Spenser that he passes on to me. They're seriously funny! Lunick fell down Ringtown Base's stairs from laughing so hard at one of them and almost broke his leg. Leilani passed out from laughing at another."

"Just the thing to lighten the mood!" Keith grinned, happy the subject had been changed from him "Go one, tell us a good one Kate!"

Kate seemed to cower at the four eager stares pointing in her direction. One of them belonged to Luna, who looked interested to hear about what a complete and utter idiot her old leader used to be.

"Well, there's one" Kate cleared her throat "It happened when the gang: Spenser, Joel, Cameron, Elita and Jackie, had just arrived at Ranger School..."

* * *

><p><em>"New students! Congratulations on passing the entrance exam and welcome to Ranger School!"<em>

_Elita raised her chin to look up at the school principle, a friendly man in his early twenties standing on a stage above the students, called something like Mr Splendidocious. Thankfully they had been permitted to call him Principle Lamont. That was a relief, considering Cameron would never be able to get his name right and would probably make a fool of himself. Speaking of Cameron…_

"_You nervous?" The small auburn-haired boy next to her asked. She shook her head, her pink-purple ponytail flicking across the back of her neck._

"_I am" Cameron admitted. He was biting his lip and Elita could see by the state of his nails he'd been biting them too._

"_You're always nervous about everything!" snorted a bespectacled boy with blonde hair on Cameron's other side. _

_Elita rolled her green eyes at Joel. The Fall City resident was, in short, a complete and utter pain in the neck. People said she could be a little cold towards people, but Joel was ridiculous. He hadn't stopped insulting Cameron since the two of them and Jackie, the blond boy on Joel's other side, had rammed into each other outside the school gates thanks to Jackie upsetting an angry herd of Ponyta. Thankfully Elita had been there to stop a potential fight breaking out._

"_You'll be fine." Jackie peered past Joel and gave Cameron a wink. Cameron shot a small smile back before returning to being a stiff as a post, looking up at the principle._

"_You are now all student rangers" Principle Lamont went on, not noticing the five of them on the left side of the front row whispering to each other "Let this be the first step of many towards your hopes and dreams." He gave them a merry smile "As you all know, being ranger students, you are now in possession of school stylers, designed by none other than our own Professor Hastings." _

_Elita cautiously moved her hand down to her waist and rubbed her thumb along the top of her new styler, smiling as she did so._

"_You will board here for between a year and two years depending on your learning ability, developing your knowledge, wisdom and techniques" Principle Lamont continued "And you will leave us as expert rangers, mechanics and operators." He looked at a woman with blonde hair called Mrs Stella to read out the register._

"_Cameron Aukland?" she called. Shaking with nerves, Cameron raised his hand._

"_H-Here!" he stammered. Some sniggers arose from the students as he lowered it at the speed of light._

"_Joel Mason?" Mrs Stella called._

"_Here" Joel raised his hand, looking a million times more confident than Cameron._

"_Elita Caulfield?"_

_"Here" Elita raised her own hand before lowering it._

"_John Walker Jr?"_

_"Here!" Jackie called in his excessively loud voice, making his 'friends' wince and tend to their poor ears._

"_Ann—" Mrs Stella was about to call._

"_WAIT FOR ME!"_

_The door to the courtyard slammed open. What could only be described as a tumbleweed rolled at 100 miles-an-hour along the aisle down the middle and slammed into the base of the stage. As the tumbleweed unrolled itself, Elita realised it was indeed not a tumbleweed as she had first suspected. It was actually a boy who appeared to be her age. He had wild green hair that seemed to explode in all directions and mint-green eyes that weirdly seemed to not focus on anything, as if he couldn't see clearly. He was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly._

"_Name?" Mrs Stella enquired, plainly surprised._

"_Who me?" The boy asked, pointing at himself, then smiling again but failing to focus in Mrs Stella as he did so "Er…Spenser! Spenser Hayate!"_

_Elita found herself falling for her old ploy of judging someone straight off the bat. She immediately knew the kid in front of her was hyper-active, a fidgeter and someone who you could never give caffeine to. However, she had a feeling he was one of those happy-go-lucky types, and one of those people who messed around yet somehow managed to be the best of the best._

_'__**He might be one to keep an eye on**__' she thought, assessing her competition '__**That is, if he ever grows out of immaturity.**__'_

_Apparently that wasn't happening any time soon though._

_"Well Spenser" Principle Lamont peered over the edge of the stage to look at the party-crasher "I must inform you that you would normally get a detention for your lateness. However, since this is your first day...or should I say first minute here, as well as taking into account your condition, I will only caution you. Understood?"_

_Immediately whispers began to run through the crowd, wondering what 'condition' this new boy had that was enough to aid him in getting out of major trouble._

_"Yup, understood!" Spenser quickly leapt to his feet. __Elita realised he was actually about her height, maybe a little shorter because his wild hair made him look taller. He jogged over to stand in the empty space between Elita and the aisle. The female student couldn't help but realise how care-free he was despite the fact he had crashed the opening ceremony and some-what embarrassed himself in front of the school._

_Principle Lamont continued with his little speech before only finishing with:_

_"You may now proceed to your classrooms."_

_A bell rung and the teacher left for the classroom. As the banging noise of brass upon beater echoed over the school, Spenser jumped into the air, punching his fist above his head. He then somehow managed to backflip over the row of students behind them and bounce his way to Mrs Stella's classroom, only his outstretched hand managing to stop him from crashing into the wall on his way there. Yep, definitely an eyesight problem._

_"Way too hyper" Elita mumbled. Some others were mumbling similar things. Others were sniggering or rolling on the ground in tears of laughter. Elita looked over at her 'friends', but found Joel and Jackie were glaring at each other with Cameron futilely trying to break them up._

_"This is going to be one long year" she muttered with a sigh._

* * *

><p>Kate beamed with pride as she saw all the listeners of her story were beating the ground with laughter. Even Luna was in stiches laughing:<p>

"_**I'm never-ever going to let Spenser live this down!**_"

"That hilarious!" Keith laughed, sitting up "The 'I-think-I-can-glare-a-hole-in-wood-because-I-am-so-serious' leader of Ringtown Ranger Base being completely hyper?!"

"More like Mr 'I-think-I-can-do-anything-and-everything-even-though-I'm-only-human'!" Rhythmi finally managed to pull herself together "How many of those do you know Kate?!"

"A few" the gingerette shrugged "Percy sends me letters with them in all the time. Usually when they have Team Bonding sessions or a party, Cameron ends up blurting it all out. They co-insist with the times Cameron get admitted to Fall City hospital with broken limbs."

She poked her head out from under the duvet before sighing. "Still no power. I'm gonna go and check the fuse box."

She disappeared and they heard the sound of the door opening and closing. Kellyn pointed at himself and then in the direction of the door.

"You better follow her" Rhythmi nodded "Leave Kate with a screwdriver and fuse box, and you'll have a field day."

Kellyn crawled out from under the duvet and shivered, immediately feeling the sudden temperature change. He then jogged out of the room and down the stairs. He caught up with Kate just as she had stepped outside the building.

"You coming too?" Kate asked, pulling up the hood of her yellow rain-mac.

The thunder and lightning had stopped, but the rain was relentless. Kellyn nodded, mirroring her with his blue rain-mac. Without any warning, the lights of Ranger School flickered on.

"Oh, looks like someone fixed the problem" Kate commented "Sorry for dragging you out for nothing Kellyn. I just couldn't sit around waiting for something to happen."

Kellyn held up his hand to show his 'it's fine' expression.

"No point in standing out in the rain" she flicked some newly-fallen raindrops off her rain-mac "We should—"

She was cut off by a loud whooshing noise overhead. A white light blazed over their head, causing them to duck in fear, and fell into the forest, creating a loud explosion. After the sudden event, there was nothing but the pitter-pattering of rain.

"W-Was that a meteor?" Kate asked shakily.

"_**I'll tell you what it was!**_" Luna was positively fuming "_**It was a positively enormous racket! It's still throbbing in my ears!**_"

Ignoring Luna, Kellyn set off towards the forest, signalling with his arm for Kate to follow. The two students, with Luna running in between them, sprinted towards the explosion. It was a few minutes before they arrived. There was now an enormous crater with a diameter of about 15 metres and at least half that deep in the centre of a newly-made clearing. The sides were ash-grey and the rain was seeing to the smaller fires the meteor had made, pooling at the very centre. There was no sign of any rock that could have fallen.

"Look!" Kate gasped, getting Kellyn's attention. She wasn't looking at the crash-site, but at the trees on the fridge of it.

Lying at the base of one tree was a boy. He looked about 13 with white hair that appeared to be quite long as it stretched a little way down his back. His hair looked smoke-grey in the rain, but Kellyn suspected when dry it was snow-white. His skin was tanned and he had a feeling the boy's closed eyes would be golden-brown. He was unconscious, apparently thrown back against the tree when the meteor fell.

Beside a him, a black Pokémon was trying to nudge him awake. Kellyn recognised it as Umbreon, the Eeveelution he and Kate were doing their project on. Its yellow rings were glowing slightly in the darkness of the rainstorm as it tried to nudge the white-haired boy awake. It then gave up, raised its head and looked at the ranger students plus Luna who had hopped onto Kellyn's right shoulder.

"Umbree..." The Umbreon spoke, its red eyes baring sorrowfully into their souls. Kate didn't understand the Pokémon's thoughts, but Kellyn did. He gasped as he understood.

"_**Please. Please help us!**_"


	14. Starlight Capture

**"****So, is there a reason you're asleep in the corner of our dorm room?"**

**"Just who are you?"**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Fourteen – Starlight Capture**

"So who is he again?" Keith blinked as he looked at the silver-haired stranger asleep under a blanket in the corner of the dorm. His Umbreon slept beside him, now and again nudging its master's hand with its nose.

**If I'm quite honest, I haven't got a clue**

"Seriously?" Keith groaned and face-palmed "Kate, where are you getting these guys from? The lunie-bin?"

Kellyn's eyes narrowed at the mention of being referred to as a lunie, but kept quiet.

"He's not a lunie Keith, he's just a bit...different" Kate bit her lip "You'll see when he wakes up."

Kellyn tilted his head to the side and wondered what had gone down between Kate, Principle Lamont and this stranger in the headmaster's office that he resulted in him staying at Ranger School.

"So, you have no idea who this guy is?" Keith asked again.

"Not even a name" Kate nodded "His possessions are few, only the Umbreon's Pokéball and that." She pointed at something in a pouch at his hip. Keith's jaw dropped.

"Is that a...capture styler?!" he practically shrieked "A real one instead of these silly school ones?!"

"Yup" Kate nodded "He's not like any ranger I've ever seen though."

Just then, Kellyn heard a low moan escape the stranger's throat as he stirred.

"Hey" Kate said softly, kneeling down so she was level with him "You okay?"

As Kellyn first thought, the stranger had golden-brown eyes that hazily opened and looked at Kate.

"W-Who are you?" he rasped "W-Where am I?"

"You're at Ranger School in the south of Almia" Kate smiled cheerfully "I don't suspect you'll remember me from last night, but my name is Kate." She gestured over her shoulder at the boys "And those are Kellyn and Keith."

The stranger looked at the two boys for a long time, almost as if assessing them. Kellyn had a suspicious feeling the stranger paid more attention to him than Keith, but pushed his worries aside as the silver-haired boy turned to Kate again.

"Ranger School?" he asked "Why am I here?"

"That's...a good question" Kate bit her lip "We hoped you may be able to answer that."

"Who are you exactly?" Keith butted in.

The stranger bit his lip. "I...I don't know. All I remember is my star sign is Taurus and I'm 14-years-old. That's it though."

Kellyn's eyes widened. '_Is that what Kate meant by strange_? _That he's an amnesiac_?'

Luna trotted over to the Umbreon. The white Espeon wasn't normally allowed inside the school during daylight, but she was just as curious about this silver-haired stranger and his Pokémon as the humans were.

"_**Hi!**_" She raised a paw in greeting.

The Umbreon shivered and wordlessly took a step back, rubbing it's head against the stranger's arm.

"_**Nice to meet you! I'm Eclipse of the Dark Moon! But most people call me Luna!**_" Luna continued, beaming gleefully.

The Umbreon continued to tremble, managing to stutter: "_**S-Shadow of the W-Willow Trees.**_"

Kellyn guessed that was its name.

"Easy Shadow" The stranger ran his hand down the Umbreon's back. Immediately the Pokémon untensed and gave off what might have been a purr. The stranger sighed "I wish I was capable of remembering my own name instead of just yours."

"Maybe that means you were really close to Shadow then" Kate said as comfortingly as possible.

"_**Where are you from?**_" Luna enquired.

Shadow flinched and jumped over his master's legs, apparently attempting to hide from Luna.

'_Talk about nervous_' Kellyn thought '_Total opposite to Luna._'

"So, is there a reason you're asleep in the corner of our dorm room?" Keith asked.

The stranger just blinked so Kellyn explained things:

**We think a meteor fell and the blast smashed him against a tree. He was so tired, he practically fell asleep whilst talking to Principle Lamont. I offered him my bed, but when I came back he was already asleep where he is now.**

"Oh" Keith nodded, understanding.

Kate held her hand behind her shoulder to tell him to shut up. The stranger raised a hand to his mouth, squeezed his golden-brown eyes shut and silently yawned.

"You're still tired?" Kate asked. The stranger nodded blearily "You get some sleep then. We've got a class to get to."

But before she had even finished speaking the stranger was asleep.

"Talk about tired" Keith commented "Wonder what happened to him."

'_Don't we all_?' Kellyn thought.

* * *

><p>"It's official. I HATE GEOGRAPHY!"<p>

**We're just learning to read maps. It's not like you've been asked to revise the names of all the towns in Sinnoh**

"But they're not even maps of Almia!" Keith was quite literally pulling his ginger hair out "Why do we have to study maps of Hoenn of all places?! There are too many islands! I can't keep up with it all!"

**What are you talking about? We're stuck with Hoenn because you, Sami and Ponte were moaning about having to study Orre 'The Land of All Thing Sandy'!**

"I did?" Keith rubbed the back of his neck "I'm pretty sure that was just Ponte."

**Nope, you and Sami added your two cents in as well**

Keith snorted and shook his head as if he was in utter denial. Kellyn just rolled his eyes. The day Keith admitted to something that was his fault was the day he handed in his styler.

They entered the dorm and immediately realised something was missing.

"Where'd that amnesia guy go?" Keith asked.

Kellyn shrugged, wondering exactly the same thing.

"Hey Keith!" The two boys turned around to see Nick leaning in the door "Capture challenge, you up for it?"

"Alright!" cheered Keith, punching the air "Tell Liam we'll be right there!"

Nick disappeared down the stairs. Keith and Kellyn went to follow him, but Kate quickly stepped in their path.

"You're having a capture challenge?" she asked. They nodded "Can you take Starlight too? He's sitting on the hill outside. I think he's bored."

The boys blinked. Then they double blinked. Then triple blinked.

**What did you just call him?**

"Huh? Starlight" Kate replied "We found him next to a fallen star. Plus his hair's silver."

Keith face palmed and groaned: "Kate, you can't call him Starlight!"

"Why not?" Kate cocked her head to one side.

"It's patronising" Keith answered.

"Do you even know what that means?"

"Not exactly, but I get the concept."

"Well I..." Kate began, then just looked annoyed "Why am I even wasting my time arguing with you? You always want the last word Keith! Geez, I'm just trying to make the poor guy feel included! Maybe you should try it!"

She stomped her foot once and then stormed off in the direction of the library.

The boys watched her leave, both a little blown back by her sudden outburst. They blinked, then blinked again.

"Wow" commented Keith, a little stunned "I didn't know she had it in her."

He looked at Kellyn, who gave him a look Keith recognised, but didn't like.

"I'm not apologising to her!" Keith fought back "I didn't do anything!" Kellyn gave him a hard glare and Keith gave a relenting sigh "Fine. I'll go. You go find, ahem, 'Starlight'."

Keith turned to leave, but Kellyn cleared his throat and got his attention again.

**And mean it!**

Keith muttered something incoherent before disappearing in his nap room.

Rolling his eyes, Kellyn took the steps two at a time. Stepping out into the open, he looked around for the stranger. It didn't take him long, the silver-haired boy was lying on the hillside, staring up at the evening sky with Luna and Shadow curled up either side of him.

'_This guy really has a thing with Pokémon_' Kellyn thought, approaching the stranger. He cleared his throat to get the older boy's attention.

"Oh, hi" the stranger smiled, sitting up "Um...Kevin wasn't it?"

**It's Kellyn. But don't worry, not a lot of people get it the first time**

"Oh, okay, sorry" the stranger said "Are you the master capturer Eclipse has been to on about?" He gently stroked the back of the sleeping Luna. Kellyn smiled and was about to write something, but then frowned, crossed it out a wrote a separate question:

**You can understand Pokémon too?**

"Apparently, we've just been getting to know each other" the stranger gently patted the still-sleeping white Espeon's head "Eclipse here says she's the unofficial partner Pokémon of a mute 'master capturer'. I judged by the way you didn't say a word this morning, you were the mute capturer she was talking about."

Kellyn's cheeks flushed as the sudden high praise.

**I wouldn't say a master capturer. And there's no way Luna would ever give praise like that to my face.**

The stranger laughed.

"You call her Luna, huh?" he asked. Kellyn nodded "And I'm guessing that by the way you can understand Pokémon, you know this companion of mine is called Shadow." He smiled at the Umbreon at his side that was snoring ever so lightly.

**Do you have a name yet?**

The stranger simply shook his head and gave the notebook back.

**Kate's been calling you Starlight**

"Starlight?" The stranger related. Kellyn nodded. The older boy looked thoughtful for a few moments, staring up at the reddening sky "Actually, it's not too bad. I suppose I can live with it until I find out my real name."

**The boys are holding a capture challenge down in the Ascension Square. Do you want to join in?**

"A capture challenge?" Starlight's face positively lit up at the thought "Yeah! Sure! I'll come! I need to meet some of these people anyway."

They left Luna and Shadow to their naps as they headed down the stairs towards the Ascension Square.

* * *

><p>Nick and Ponte had never been big fans of the actual capturing competition. Therefore it was their job to find as many Pokémon to capture as possible and herd them in the Ascension Square. Kellyn was impressed with the line-up they had today. Where did they get a Charmander from? Had that thing always been hanging around here?<p>

Normally they were three or four people competing, but today there was five. As the reining champion, Keith went first. He had a minute to capture as many of the Pokémon as he could. He got eight, which was a little less than his record, but more than Kate who got six. Liam went next, and utterly failed with only four. He mumbled some excuse about the setting sun getting in his eyes before pouting and sulking cross-legged on the Pledge Stone.

Kellyn went next. He was used to the biweekly events on Friday evenings and knew how to cope under the pressure newbies often felt. For a minute everything was a blur. He was capturing Pokémon left and right. Finally he heard Ponte blow his whistle and stopped, just finishing the Budew capture in the nick of time.

"Seven!" Nick called, he was referee with the stopwatch "Nice one Kellyn! You're getting better!"

Kellyn smiled a thank you before going to sit with Kate at the base of the Pledge Stone.

"Alright Starlight, you're up!" Nick called the silver-haired boy leaning against the Pledge Stone.

Starlight leapt onto the dusty ground and looked at Nick. "So I capture as many Pokémon as I can, right?"

"That's the idea" Ponte answered "You ready?"

Starlight nodded. He let the antenna of his proper ranger styler materialise.

"Three, two, one..." Ponte blew the whistle. Automatically Starlight sprung to an impossible height in the air.

"Capture...on!" he called.

The capture disk was released.

Kellyn didn't know where to look. Starlight was better suited to aerial attacks and there was barely a moment the boy was the ground. Silver streams of light shone golden in the dying sunlight as Pokémon were capture left, right and centre.

The whistle blew. Starlight landed on the ground again, snatching his capture disk from the air and turning away from the Tailow he'd been about to capture.

Nick's jaw dropped. "Twelve Pokémon in a minute?! That's a Pokémon captured every five seconds!"

Starlight shrugged like this wasn't a big deal.

"Hey, that beats Keith's record of ten!" Liam grinned "We have a new champion, our mysterious newbie: Starlight!"

Kate and Kellyn were among those who clapped their congratulations. Keith wasn't.

Starlight seemed unmoved by any of this. He jut stood there, his eyes almost a dull copper and his silver hair blood-red in the almost dead light. He then walked past them and up the steps without a word. Halfway up, Luna and Shadow sprung down into his arms; Kellyn was glad Nick, Ponte and Liam were too busy whispering to each other to notice. Not bowled over form the sudden attack, Starlight carried the two Eeveelutions up the steps out of sight over the crest of the hill.

'_A single amnesiac ranger with that much skill_?' Kellyn thought '_This may not be an original question, but just who are you Starlight_?'


	15. Snowball Fight!

**"****You know, you guys never fail to surprise me with your immaturity."**

**"I****'m freezing and starving under here!" **

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Fifteen – Snowball Fight!**

"KELLYN!"

Kellyn exploded out of his sleep as he felt something leap on top of him. He raised his head from his pillow and saw Keith bouncing on his hands and knees in the space between Kellyn's top bunk and the ceiling.

"Wake up Kellyn!" Keith cheered, bouncing at the base of the bed now. The springs in the mattress caused both of them to be thrown up into the air every time Keith hit it.

Kellyn shot him a furious look that plainly said: "What do you want now?"

"Look out the window!" Keith cheered, standing up in a stoop to avoid hitting his head off the ceiling "It's snowing!" With a yelp of joy, Keith star-jumped off the bunk-bed and promptly face-planted the floor "I meant to do that!"

Kellyn turned and looked out the window next to him. Beside him, Luna was washing her paws. When she decided her paws were sufficiently clean, she too walked to the window.

It had been a three weeks since Starlight had first arrived at Ranger School. Now they considered him and Shadow rue members of the family. November had turned into December and now winter had truly begun. December 17th brought the first snow of the year.

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Liam and Keith cheered in sync.

"Ow!" protested Starlight, Kellyn guessed he was rubbing his ears "If you're going to yell, yell in the common room!"

Kellyn heard the door open and close and guessed they must have taken Starlight literally. Two seconds later, this was confirmed as whoops of joy sounded from the common room. After about a minute of non-stop celebrating the two giddy preteens burst back in the dorm.

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" They both yelled in the same tone as before.

'_Apparently yelling so loudly they could bring the Brass Tower crumbling down for a solid minute doesn't stop them from acting like Mews on sugar-high_' Kellyn thought.

He peered over the edge of the bed and saw the pair of them running around like lunatics, throwing coats and hats linked arms and half-trotted, half-skipped their way towards the door.

"Hold it!" Starlight sat up on the mattress in the corner where he'd been sleeping for the last three weeks "You guys do realise you're still in pyjamas, right?"

Liam and Keith ducked their heads with embarrassment before rushing back to their bunks to find some warm clothes. Isaac, Starlight and Nick all sweat-dropped. Kellyn and the Pokémon just blinked at the stupidity, like they couldn't believe that someone could actually be as ridiculous as Keith or Liam in snowy situations.

Once they were in suitable attire, the two tried to dash out the door again, only to be stopped by Starlight and Nick, baring scarves, gloves and hats.

"Why do we have to wear all this stuff?" Keith complained as Starlight wound a red scarf around his neck.

"Because if you catch a cold, you'll pass it on to all of us" Starlight answered "And I don't want to be sniffling all the way through next week's Christmas party."

Kellyn eyes widened. He suddenly remembered the Christmas party that Kate had been planning for Christmas Eve in a week's time. The holidays had begun, meaning that there were no lessons for the students to worry about and they could sleep in as long as they liked...well, if Keith and Liam didn't have a say in the matter.

"Alright! Done!" Liam announced impatiently, pulling on the other black glove Nick had given him "Now everyone, I expect you all out there in the next half an hour! Or I'm going to make like my Sinnoh cousin Barry and fine you a million Pokédollars!"

He bolted out of the dorm in full snow protection, followed by Keith.

Kellyn groaned, knowing Liam would live up to his words, and reluctantly kicked the duvet off him. Sitting up, he rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked at the others. Nick was staring at the door in exasperation and Starlight was apparently thinking down the same road as Kellyn, rooting around in his bag of borrowed clothes for something warm enough to wear outside. Ponte was still asleep and Isaac was sitting on his bottom bunk, reading a huge book. Kellyn raised an eyebrow at him. Isaac caught his gaze.

"What?" he asked "Just a little light holiday reading."

Kellyn raised an eyebrow. '_That's light_? _Who are you, Hermione Granger_?'

He then frowned at Nick. What was he doing with that pillow? The brunet half-climbed the bunk-bed ladder and pointed at Ponte's sleeping form that was snoring loudly. Kellyn grinned, clutching his own pillow. He climbed down the ladder of his bunk-bed and crept over to Isaac and Ponte's. Using the rungs on the side of the bunk-bed, he climbed up so he was standing on the wooden beam at the base of Ponte's bunk. He looked at Nick who was standing on the top rung of the ladder, pillow raised in the air. They silently counted down from three.

Three...two...one...GO!

Two pillows came whizzing down to meet the sleeping Ponte. The turquoise-haired boy yowled with fear and surprise as Kellyn and Nick proceeded to whack him with their pillows. After a few seconds, when Ponte realised he wasn't going to be beaten to death, he began to laugh uncontrollably and clumsily fight back with his own pillow. After a few minutes, Kellyn decided Ponte had had enough and jumped back down to the floor. Isaac rolled his eyes at the noise coming from the top bunk and continued his 'light' reading. Starlight was sitting on his mattress, chuckling at the entire scene.

"You know, you guys never fail to surprise me with your immaturity" he teased.

Kellyn stuck his tongue out at him before climbing up to the sanctuary of his own bunk. He'd better get changed before Keith and Liam found him in pyjamas and tried to drag him outside in that attire. Since it wasn't a school day, he decided against wearing his school uniform. Instead he removed from his drawer a pair of brown trousers, a blue shirt and a white jacket. Knowing how relentless Liam and Keith could be with mud and deciding they would probably have a mega snowball fight, he also located a hat, a scarf, a pair of gloves and a blue coat that was a little too big for him, but the extra-long sleeves would keep his hands warm. Finally, he slipped his locket around his neck and hid it under his zipped-up jacket. He decided against taking his notebook and pen. The paper would just get soggy in the snow and it was easy to communicate with the others now with just grunts and facial expressions.

"Looks like we're thinking down the same wavelength huh?"

Kellyn turned around and saw Starlight looking at him, just finishing tying his stringy silver hair into a ponytail. The teen was apparently wearing a similar outfit to Kellyn's, but made up of items out of the lost-and-found box. He was now trying to squash a green and white bobble-hat over his head, although it was clearly too small for him. Kellyn sighed and they swapped hats so Starlight didn't have to crush his skull. Starlight thanked him in return.

They waited whilst Nick and Ponte convinced Isaac to join in with them and then get dressed appropriately before heading outside. Luna and Shadow decided against getting their fur wet and circled up together under the blanket of Starlight's mattress as the boys left for their fun and games.

* * *

><p>The school field was under half a foot of snow. It appeared there had been a massive snowball fight at one point as a good deal of the school walls and several students, mainly Keith and Liam, were covered in snow. Now most people were whispering excitedly in groups, like something was about to happen. The snowball fight had been degraded to a mini one between Kate, Sami and Tamie.<p>

Kellyn almost gagged on thin air when he saw Kate. Her copper-coloured shoulder-length hair was down and blazed like fire as she ran amongst the white of the snow. Her smiling baby-blue eyes were a dramatic contrast to her rippling blood-red coat.

"Don't die yet, lover boy!" Starlight teased, clapping a hand on Kellyn's shoulder "I think Keith wants to see your expression when you hit Kate's 'adorable' face with a snowball!"

Kellyn groaned. '_Not you too Starlight_!'

Starlight and Shadow had been the only ones merciful to him so far about the fact he had a few feelings for Kate. Even Luna had been beating him up over it, mentally anyhow. And now it appeared Starlight was joining the dark side too.

"Alright everyone! Listen up!" Liam called everyone over to gather around him and Keith "I know you all want breakfast, but since the teachers had other plans, Keith and I came up with a game to play!"

He looked at his partner-in-crime and the ginger took over. "The game will be a snowball fight. We'll divide into 4 groups of 3 and we'll all have 30 minutes to create walls and other covers that will be used during the game. The rules are simple. If you get hit by a snowball, you're out. The first team to be completely eliminated will be in the last place, then the third, and so on. The team that gets the first place will get first dibs on breakfast, fourth place last."

"We have to go into breakfast last if we lose?" Ponte's jaw positively hit the ground "That's so harsh!"

"That's how the rules work my friend" Keith grinned "We've already picked the teams: Reds will be me, Liam and Nick; Blues will be Kellyn, Kate and Starlight; Yellows will be Sami, Tamie and Verity; and Greens will Ponte, Isaac and Becs."

"What about Rhythmi?" Sami asked.

"I don't really want to throw things at people, I have to save my accuracy skill from when I'm an Operator and bossing Keith around" Rhythmi grinned, earning a cold glare from Keith "I'll be referee."

"Good idea" Liam spoke up since Keith was too busy glaring at the blonde "Rhythmi can be referee and she gets to eat with the team she bets on."

He turned to the others and they divided the field equally into four sections, adding as they ran to their corners: "To ensure that no team stalls unnecessarily, we'll have one hour for this game. If no teams are eliminated by that time, every team is considered to be in the last place. If three teams remain, then the three teams are in the third place, and etcetera."

Tamie handed Rhythmi a whistle and a watch. "Here, blow the whistle to start the 30 minutes to create cover then blow the whistle again to start the game. When the time is up, blow the whistle again."

"Okay. I think that the Red team will win. And…" Rhythmi suddenly blew into the whistle.

Kellyn wasn't sure how the darn whistle didn't wake up all the teachers, or at least Kaplan and Claire since their lab was right next to where they were playing. He half expected Mr Kincaid to come running out the door yelling about violating the school grounds and Keith 'accidentally'' ruining his hair with a snowball. But he didn't, and Kellyn hadn't time to think over these things because the epic snowball fight was about to begin.

The Reds quickly rushed to their corner of the field and began building a series of covers of varying heights. Becs, copying the boys, got Isaac and Ponte to build a series of covers as well. Verity, Sami and Tamie built a giant wall to defend against mortar shots. Starlight and Kate built a large barricade while Kellyn made ammunition for the snowball fight.

Rhythmi, watching the four teams building their bases, blew into the whistle when 30 minutes passed. The other 12 students all quickly dived into the safety of their covers.

"Remember, you can't leave your team's corner, and avoid hitting people in the face!" Keith yelled from behind his cover "And pretend to be dead if you get hit!"

Kellyn raised an eyebrow at the last order, but decided to just play along.

Keith and Liam exchanged looks and nodded. Keith picked up several snowballs and randomly hurled them towards the other teams while Liam moved closer to the farthest cover in the Red team's space. He peeked around the wall and took cover just in time to avoid a snowball. He took a large snowball and tossed it towards Tamie, who was the one who attacked him.

Nick looked around his cover at Becs. She waved at him and lifted a huge snowball, which appeared to be nearly as big as the girl herself. With both hands, she threw the snow-bomb directly at him.

"Holy Mew!" he exclaimed as he took cover. With a loud crash, the snow-bomb impacted with the cover and dismantled most of it. He looked at his teammates "Did you see what that girl just did?! No wonder she wins all the arm-wrestling contests!"

"Nick, I'm taking fire from the Green side!" Liam complained

"I was just attacked by a massive snow-grenade from Becs! I can't give you covering fire!" Nick protested. As if cued, another boom came from the other side of his cover "There's another one!"

Becs grinned as she gathered snow to create another giant snowbomb. She stopped as Ponte tapped her shoulder.

"Over there" he said, pointing towards the cover Sami was hiding behind "That wall looks awfully weak. Do you think you can break it?"

Becs glanced at the wall before she took cover again.

"Yeah, I think I can" she nodded "Just stand back, okay."

She looked over at Isaac who was holding and single snowball and mumbling quantum physics or something to try and get the angle of his throw right. Shaking her head, Becs decided he was too preoccupied doing maths to get in the way.

Ponte gave her 3 snowballs, which were compressed tight into essentially ice with his large hands. She examined one then lobbed it towards the weak cover the three girls had quickly set up a few minutes ago. The ice ball punched through the weak wall and barely missed Sami. The brunette shrieked in surprise. She quickly tried to move to a different cover when Ponte threw several snowballs at her. Tamie saw the motion from her cover.

"Look out!" she yelled as she dove towards Sami. She pushed her friend out the way, taking the 'shots' instead of her.

Sami shrieked again as Tamie went limp and collapsed onto her.

"Tamie, no!" came Verity's hollering. She rose to her feet and starting throwing the snowballs towards the Greens who immediately ducked and hid.

Starlight, noticing the distraction, threw a tightly compressed snowball at Verity and hit her right in the chest. The dark-brunette Yellow team member fell backwards and hit the ground with a thud.

"Wait a minute…" she started, still in her 'dead' position. "Why in the name of Jirachi did I do that? Great Latios, that was stupid!"

Sami tried to regain balance as Tamie leaned against her "Tamara, hang in there, please!"

"Someone tell her it's just a game" Becs sighed behind the Greens' cover.

Noticing that Sami's back was turned, Ponte threw an ice ball. At the same time, Kate tossed a snowball and Keith whipped one as well. The ice ball hit Sami in her lower back and the other two snowballs hit her in the shoulders. She yelped and gasped in pain (acting, yet the ice ball did hurt) as she dropped to her knees. She groaned a little before she collapsed to her side.

"Wow… that's some good acting…" Keith muttered "Maybe a little too much, though."

Sami opened her green eyes and looked at Tamie, who was looking at her with hazel orbs.

"Did I do well?" she asked.

Tamie nodded and gave her a thumbs-up.

"Why in the name of Celebi did you do that?!" came Verity's voice from behind them. Sami remained silent for a short while.

"I"m sorry. I must have gotten carried away…" she groaned.

"Hey, it's not your fault" Tamie said with a smile.

"Er, yes it is!" Verity complained again "Now we have to go into breakfast last! The boys will eat everything!"

"Well, Mum sent me come Celebrations for the party next week, but I'm sure we can break into them now" Sami offered.

Silence came from Verity's direction.

"I think we can accept them as a worthy compromise" she agreed finally.

"So… how long do we have to remain dead?!" Tamie yelled.

"Until the game's over!" the reply was shot back from Keith.

Meanwhile, Becs turned to look at the Red team. She picked up the last ice ball and whipped it towards Nick. He took cover and the ice ball almost pierced through the snow wall.

"Uh… Liam, I could use some help" Nick requested as he began reinforcing the wall.

Liam, who had created a huge pile of snowballs while staying under cover, began to use them to rapidly bombard the Green team. The Green team took cover from the raining snowballs. Isaac and Becs glanced at each other to ensure that they were alive. Ponte, however, remained motionless under a large pile of snow.

"Ow… I'm hit… a lot…" he muttered.

Becs gritted her teeth and began to build another snow-bomb.

Starlight poked a hole through his cover and looked at the Red team. Taking aim properly, he tossed several snowballs like mortar shots. Shortly after, he could hear Nick's cry.

"Got 'im!" Starlight cheered up, then called "You don't have to worry about Becs now Nick!"

"Yeah! Thanks a lot!" Nick didn't sound as impressed as he should sound.

Liam shook his head and peeked around the corner at the Blue team. Keith also peeked around his corner. They exchanged looks and each threw a snowball.

Starlight almost got hit on the shoulder but dodged out the way just in time. Kellyn quickly ducked behind his cover, dodging the snowball that Liam threw. But unfortunately, Kate was standing right behind him, thus when Kellyn ducked, she got hit instead. The snowball that Liam threw hit her right in the face. Kellyn gasped and quickly checked on her. She had her hands on her face and when she moved them away, he could see a big cut on her cheek. Apparently there was some ice in that snowball. He squeaked and Starlight crawled over to see what had happened.

"Kate, you okay?" he asked.

"I think so…"

"Medic!" Starlight yelled. "She's bleeding!"

Surprised, Liam looked around the snow wall, wondering if it was just a ruse to draw him out. He could see Rhythmi helping Kate up to her feet, and he could see some blood on the younger girl's cheek.

"Sorry, Kate!" he yelled. He knew Kellyn would literally skin him alive if he didn't apologise for hurting his precious Kate.

"I'm okay!" she yelled back.

Kellyn jumped up and started to throw snowballs towards the Red team, so that he may 'avenge' Kate. Liam and Keith took cover to avoid the rapid fire from the enraged midget. Becs, taking this opportunity, threw the snow-bomb with both hands towards Kellyn.

"Incoming!" Starlight cried.

Spotting it just in the nick of time, Kellyn ducked and the snow-bomb hit the cover so hard it almost fell over. Instead it showered over Starlight who fell like a night pin. For added effect, he spread his arms eagle-style and let his tongue hang out of the corner of his mouth. Kellyn silently laughed, then gulped. He was own...against Becs, Isaac, Liam and Keith. Talk about a fix.

"Would you two hurry it up? I'm freezing and starving under here!" Ponte called from under his pile of snow.

"Well you shouldn't have been hit!" Becs informed her 'dead' teammate before ignoring him and simply cheering at taking out the Blues' main thrower. Isaac just ignored them both and kept muttering equations. The snowball between his gloves was starting to melt.

Becs glanced over at the Red team. It was ridiculously cold, but she needed to fight for the sake of a good breakfast… Suddenly a snowball flew over her head. She prepared a snow-bomb. She counted down and lobbed it at Liam. However, seconds after her snow-bomb completely obliterated his cover, Isaac stood up and lobbed his snowball at Liam. The snowball was thrown with deadly accuracy and Liam was knocked off his feet by it. For a second, the remaining Greens thought Liam had actually been knocked unconscious, but they were proven wrong when he called:

"Keith! You're on your own from now on! It's up to you!"

"No duh Sherlock!" Keith grunted and chucked a snowball at Kellyn, but it flew over the boy's shoulder. Dang, that little target was so hard to hit! Since the Blues were plainly not going down, Keith turned his attention to the Greens.

He threw a snowball at Becs who seemed preoccupied with being stunned by the accuracy and speed of Isaac's hit. The snowball would've hit her right in the eye if Isaac hadn't stepped in and took the hit, knowing Becs had a better chance of winning them him (no really, he'd actually worked out the probabilities and the odds were Becs was more likely to survive). Becs snapped out of her thoughts and saw Isaac starting to fall towards her. Unlike Sami (who 'died' with her protector), she grabbed him by his coat from behind and began to use him as a shield. She threw an ice ball towards Keith's cover, who jumped out of the way just as the ice ball pierced through the snow wall. While Becs prepared another snowball, Keith had jumped behind the corner where Liam had been hiding before he got hit. By the time Becs was prepared to throw, Keith was on his feet, throwing a series of snowballs. It seemed that the ammunition Liam had created was still there. Since Becs was using Isaac as a shield, all the snowballs pelted him instead of her.

"Ow, ow, ow… Rebecca, can't you just lose?" Isaac asked, groaning from continuously being hit.

"Shut up! You're supposed to be dead!" Becs yelled at him, shaking him by his coat collar.

Isaac groaned again. "I knew I shouldn't have agreed to this"

Keith took aim and threw a snowball… directly at Isaac's face. Hastily he yelled: "Isaac, duck!"

Isaac turned to look just in time to see the snowball flying straight towards his face. On instinct, he ducked, the snowball flew over his head and… hit Becs on the top of her head. She staggered backwards and soon fell.

"Alright! You're next Kellyn!" Keith yelled towards his bunkmate.

Gulping, Kellyn knew he was in trouble. Gathering some snow, he stood up to throw his snowball. Just as he was taking aim he felt something hard and wet smash into his chest. One of Keith's ice balls had struck him head-on. The force was too much for his small body and he was blown off his feet. He landed on his back...hard. His spine made contact with the snow and he felt all the air being knocked out of his lungs.

"We have a winner!" Rhythmi blew into the whistle, signalling the end of the game "Red team wins followed by Blue, then Green and finally Yellow! Now let's go get some breakfast!"

Liam and Nick cheered and tackle-hugged Keith, bowling them all over. Tamie, Verity and Sami went to dig Ponte out of his snow pile. Becs glared at Isaac.

"You betrayed me…" She growled at him on the way to the cafeteria.

"Hey, you're the one who used me as a shield!" Isaac argued back "Seriously, I'm probably covered in bruises thanks to you Rebecca! Besides, it was either that, or have my face ruined!"

Kellyn finally forced some air into his lungs and sat up. He groaned for two reasons: one because of the pain, two because of the fact he had let his team down.

"Alright there, squirt?" Kellyn felt Starlight lift him into a piggyback. It was a little patronising, but at the moment Kellyn didn't care as he laced his hands around Starlight's neck to make sure he didn't fall off. He felt the bobbing motion of Starlight trudging through the snow towards the cafeteria and turned his head to look at Kate, who was walking beside them.

"You did great!" she smiled. He shook his head and gave a high-pitched sigh.

"You didn't let us down" Kate reassured him "You did brilliantly, so don't you go putting yourself down."

Kellyn smiled at her. Then, for the first time since that memorable Halloween night, Kate heard him speak three words. They were very quiet, barely a whisper in the wind, but they were there:

"Thank you Kate."


	16. Preparations

**"As your best friend, it's compulsory for me to help you with girlfriend trouble."**

**"****Hey, Kate. It's You-Know-Who!"**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Sixteen – Preparations**

Kellyn sighed as he looked out of the window at the pouring rain. The bus to Pueltown seemed to be taking forever, and the pouring rain meant the shopping trip would be dreary and boring. It was December 23rd: the day before Christmas Eve. Most of the students were taking the bus to Pueltown to get some last-minute Christmas shopping done. Kellyn had agreed to go along, but was starting to regret it. Kate and Starlight had both decided not to come, and since Luna declared she didn't like anything that moved and had an engine, he was on his own with only Keith, Liam and Nick. Said trio were squashed in the row of seats only meant for two behind him, playing Rock, Paper, Scissors. Liam appeared to be winning and Nick was getting thrashed, but only because Liam and Keith were apparently cheating by adding extras to the game. Now the game was more like Rock, Paper, Scissors, Gun, Tornado, Water, Fire, Volcano, etcetera. Kellyn couldn't keep track of what beat what and was pretty sure they couldn't either.

Kellyn gave off one of his high-pitched sighs and let his head rest against the window. He lay like that for another five minutes until he heard someone plunk themselves in the bus-seat next to his.

"Hiya Kel!" Keith grinned "Any idea what you're getting for Christmas?" Kellyn just shook his head. "Alright then. So...who have you got for Secret Santa?"

Kellyn removed a small slip of paper from his pocket and read the name on it again. The boys had all drawn names from a hat that morning, having to buy a gift for the one who's name was on the paper you blindly picked. However, Keith seemed to have forgotten you were supposed to keep the person you got a secret from everyone else. So he shook his head again.

"Oh come on, you can tell me!" Keith grinned, then his face fell "Wait, you haven't got me have you?" Kellyn shook his head for the third time "Well then, who? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Seeing Keith wasn't going to go away, Kellyn reluctantly turned the crumpled piece of paper towards the ginger. On it were five letters written in black ink: PONTE.

"Ah, that one's easy, just give him a bag of cookies or something" Keith said, then looked down at his own slip of paper and groaned "I've got Isaac. I mean, what am I supposed give him that he likes but doesn't already have? I could get him an encyclopaedia, but he'd more than likely already have it. Possibly the only thing that would satisfy him if his own library of books...oh wait. He has one of those at school practically." Keith groaned, and mingled his fingers into his ginger hair. "Maybe I can ask Lind about it when I see him tomorrow."

Kellyn raised an eyebrow.

**Who's Lind?**

"My little brother" Keith answered.

**Your names are Keith and Lind?**

"Yeah yeah, laugh all you want" Keith snorted "Dad went to school with the two of them and after the whole Go Rock Squad thing, he wanted his two sons named after them." He sighed "Well at least we're not twins." He answered Kellyn's question gaze "Lind's eight."

**Same age as Melissa**

"Melissa...she's your foster sister right?" Keith asked. Kellyn nodded "Will you be seeing her tomorrow?"

Kellyn shook his head. Most of the students were spending Christmas Eve with their families, but he'd decided against it. Besides, Kate was staying at school too since her family was in Fiore (she was going back home for her thirteenth birthday around New Years however), and Starlight was obvious staying at school. The three of them could just hang out together and get ready for the Christmas party tomorrow night.

"So what else is up?" Keith asked "Come on, you never go into depression mode over such a trivial thing."

Kellyn sighed. Keith wasn't going to stop pestering him until they reached Pueltown in fifteen minutes, so he may as well tell him.

**I want to get a gift for Kate**

"Oh, so you want to get a Christmas present for your girlfriend do you?" Keith teased. Kellyn rolled his eyes, he knew this was coming "You know what, I have an idea of what you can get her."

Kellyn startled and raised an eyebrow at this.

"Don't you worry!" Keith winked at him "As your best friend, it's compulsory for me to help you with girlfriend trouble, and this is no exception! Don't you worry Kel! We're gonna get Kate the best present she's ever received!"

* * *

><p>Kellyn struggled to fit through the cafeteria doors as the enormous build up of boxes in his arms obscured his vision. He squeaked for help as he tried to ram the door open with his back, only to almost drop all the boxes.<p>

"Oh come 'er, weaklin'!" Starlight, carrying two presents under his arm, shoved the door open with his shoulder to let them in "Kate! You in here?! We have the stuff you wanted!"

"Up here guys!" Kate called from somewhere.

Kellyn struggled to look around the edge of his pile of boxes. He squeaked and tapped his foot, hoping Kate got the message.

"I'm up here!" Kate called.

Kellyn squeaked again, demanding a bit more of a specific answer.

"Put your boxes down!" Kate called.

Kellyn gave off a squeak that sounded as much like 'Where?' as possible, followed by a rough cough for his efforts.

"To your left. Just place them down there. I'll pick them up later."

"You're gonna pick these up?" Starlight asked as he carefully took half of Kellyn's boxes and placed them down to the left of the door.

"I'm gonna empty the boxes first, Genius!" Kate called down to him "Where's the tree lights' box?"

"You didn't tell me to...!" Starlight began, then saw it was pointless to argue with Kate and sighed "Fine! I'll go get it!" He disappeared out the doors into the cold, mumbling something like: "Stupid indecisive twelve-year-olds."

Kellyn set his boxes down next to the ones Starlight had put down and looked around for his friend. The cafeteria had gone under mass renovation for the Christmas party that evening. The tables had been pushed aside to make room for a dance space and there was a long table packed with food down one side of the room. A DJ box was at the head of the hall next to a currently bare christmas tree.

Kate was standing on a stepladder and hanging up silver tinsel on the upper part of the wall. She was wearing her school jacket, a white T-shirt and blue shorts with her ginger hair in a low ponytail to keep it out the way. He saw she was taping the tinsel up with masking tape. He also saw she was struggling to keep her balance. He grunted to get her attention, then pointed at her and tilted his head.

"I'm putting up decorations, make the room sparkle a bit more" Kate explained.

He walked as close to the ladder as he could, wrote a message and then stood on tiptoes to give the notebook to her.

**You're going to hurt yourself**

"I know how to put up tinsel Kellyn" Kate folded her arms. The stepladder creaked as she did so, making Kellyn wince.

**I never said you couldn't. But do you want any help?**

"Thanks for the offer, I'll call if I need you" she smiled "Can you sort the baubles for the Christmas tree out on that table? It'll be faster to decorate the tree if you do."

**Do we have any food?**

"Oh Kellyn, you're getting as bad as Keith!" Kate face-palmed "You're always hungry!"

**I didn't have breakfast this morning**

"Neither did I" Kate told him "You could've had some, but no. You had an amazingly important thing to do instead of eating the most important meal of the day."

**Sarcasm isn't appreciated Kate**

Kellyn felt a little hurt. The 'amazingly important thing' that involved him missing breakfast had been wrapping her christmas present that Keith had helped him pick out yesterday in Pueltown. But he couldn't let Kate know that, so he'd previously given her some excuse about studying in the library.

"Oh fine!" Kate sighed "There's a plate of cookies in the kitchen. You can have one. Luna, hand me that red tinsel please."

As the white Espeon trotted over to the boxes, Kellyn disappeared inside the kitchen. There was a plate of cookies on the work-surface. Deciding the party would still go ahead if one was missing, he picked one up and took a bite out of it. The cookies were quite small so he had finished it as he exited. It was a good thing too, or he might have dropped it in shock-horror. Kate was struggling to tape the end of a piece of tinsel to spot far from her reach. He squeaked and frantically shook his head, warning her she was going to fall.

"I can reach it" she told him. Kellyn shook his head harder, able to hear his heart pounding in his ears "I'm fine Kellyn. Honestly I'm—"

Kate's voice broke off as she fell off the ladder and began falling towards the ground a compiled by a heart-stopping scream.

"Peon!" Luna cried.

'_Kate_!' Kellyn rushed towards her.

Without any warning, Kate stopped in midair, frozen, the outline of her body glowing with a pale blue light. Knowing his triggered powers wouldn't hold her for long, Kellyn quickly ran under her and released her from her frozen state. He skidded to a stop as he held out his arms to catch her...

To his surprise, he did! Right in his arms! And he was even more surprise that he didn't fall from the force the older girl put on him when she landed in his arms.

Kate trembled as she gripped on tight onto Kellyn's shoulders, her baby-blue eyes trained on the ground as she shivered. Carefully he lowered her into a sitting position on the ground. They stared each other in the eyes for a few awkward seconds before Kate shakily asked:

"H-How did you do that?" Kellyn blinked at her question "Y-You stopped me from falling...before you caught me."

Kellyn swallowed nervously.

"_**Cat's outta the bag now, eh?**_" Luna teased from somewhere behind him.

'_Oh shut up_!' he snapped back _'I was going to have to tell her sooner or later_!'

He sighed and looked over at a plate of crisps on the table, letting his eyes glow blue-white for the second time that minute. The plate slowly rose into the air. One crisps fell from the plate, but it stopped before it hit the ground and flew back onto the plate. Kate looked at it speechlessly, her mouth hanging wide open. The plate lowered back onto the table and Kellyn hung his head as his eyes melted back to blue-green.

"Whoa" she said and then, to his surprise, grinned "That was so cool! Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

Kellyn blinked.

**You don't think I'm weirdo?**

"Well, that depends" Kate shrugged "You're a weirdo, I'm a weirdo, Starlight's a weirdo, Keith's definitely a weirdo...I suppose us weirdoes have to stick together."

Kellyn felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders, it felt easier with his best friend knowing about his abilities... wait a minute. Did he just say best friend? Was Kate his best friend?

There was a moment of awkwardness staring at each other, unsure of what to say. Fortunately for Kate, the ringing of her phone gave her enough of a reason to look away.

"H-Hello?"

_**"Hey, Kate. It's You-Know-Who!"**_

"H-Hey Keith."

_**"What's wrong? You sound like you've seen a Gastly."**_

"Oh. Well...I...um…"

_**"You okay?"**_

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine" she said as she began rubbing the back of her neck.

_**"Is Kellyn there?"**_

"Y-Yeah. H-he's here."

_**"Okey-dokey then! Put him on the line!"**_

A tense silence resounded as Kate and Kellyn stared at each other.

"Um, Keith. You do know Kellyn can't answer a phone" Kate told him.

_**"Why? Oh, wait. Ah, I get it. I'll just tell you this then, Kate."**_

"Fine, what is it?"

_**"Well, Isaac's taking the rest of us to go and see the place he wants to work at. Altru Tower or something like that. Anyway, we're taking the bus there, which is where I am now. We shouldn't be back at school until this evening, so you guys have all the time in the world to get that party up 'n' runnin'!"**_

"Er, right...thanks Keith" Kate said.

_**"No problem! ...Uh oh."**_

"What?" Kate asked "What's happening?"

_**"I think Becs and Liam are gonna brawl. Think, Becs just went and said something about Steelix being lame. Gotta split 'em up. Talk to you later, Kate, Kel. Hey guys! Come on! Can't we all just be mates?"**_

Kate heard Liam and Becs' voices yell:

_**"Shut up!"**_

in the background before disconnecting the call. It wasn't that long before the memory of what events had taken place before the call came rushing back to her. Kate and Kellyn continued to stare warily at each other.

"Um, thanks for saving me" Kate managed.

**You're welcome**

Another awkward silence followed. Thankfully this one was broken by the arrival of Starlight. The silver-haired teen hopped into the hall carrying a box of Christmas tree lights with tinsel wrapped around his neck, arms and torso. He was hopping because his left leg was wrapped in a knot of colourful lights.

"Whoa, what happened to you?" Kate laughed.

"Unbelievable!" Starlight complained, setting the box on the ground before attempting to free his leg "First I fall down the attic's ladder and land on my head, then when I finally get up there I get tangled up in the tinsel and as I unwrap myself I almost get fried by the christmas tree lights!"

Both Kate and Kellyn roared with laughter.

"It's not funny!" Starlight complained. When they didn't stop, he pouted "You guys are mean!"

His attempts to untangle the wire around his leg had been unsuccessful and he had just trapped his hands in the green-plastic-coated copper too. Shadow then trotted through the doors with a wheel of tape in his mouth. He dropped it next to Luna and, seeing his master was in trouble, attempted to free him by yanking on the wire with his teeth.

"Well, we'll leave you two to your sticky situation" Kate giggled "Come on Kellyn. We can decorate the tree."

Decorating the tree was, in a word, eventful. Kate and Kellyn saw to the tinsel and it was Kellyn's turn to nearly fall off the step ladder. Once Starlight had untangled himself from the tree lights, they unknotted them and began to lace them around the tree. Then came the baubles, and that's when things got eventful. By eventful, I mean Kellyn levitating baubles and making them fly wildly around the room before hanging them on the tree. One almost fell and smashed, but just conked Luna on the head instead. That had, in loose terms, ended badly when she let loose a psybeam and shorted out all the lights. They had to find a Pikachu and some Pichu to get them working again.

Kellyn had just finished hanging up what Kate called a nutcracker (apparently Liam had taken that literally last year and tried to use one to crack Keith's head open to see if he was a 'nutter') when said girl came over to the tree. She was carrying two baubles in the shape of birds. Kellyn cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"These?" Kate held the baubles up, seeing his expression "They're called turtle doves. They're in the twelve days of Christmas, number two. They're symbols of friendship and lo—" She broke off and blushed furiously. Kellyn did too, guessing what she was going to say. Kate then gulped, trying to hide her blush, and carried on: "Anyway, turtle doves are the things chosen to represent that because of the affection they show for their mate. Here, do you want hang one up?"

She held one out to Kellyn. He nodded and took it. The two hung the turtle doves on the tree next to each other, the smaller one flying slightly higher than its companion and their beaks pointing towards each other.

"Awww, ain't that sweet?" The two turned around to see Starlight beaming at them.

They both blushed for the second time, until they noticed Starlight's hands were behind his back.

"What are you hiding?" Kate asked.

Starlight looked over his shoulder, checking on the object he was hiding before innocently asking: "Why Kate, I haven't a clue what you're talking about."

"Yeah right" Kate folded her arms "Come on, give it here."

She took a step forwards. Starlight cupped whatever it was in his hands and held it high above his head.

"Uh-uh! Never!" he cackled menacingly "Thy shalt never discovery it! Never!"

Starlight then fled the cafeteria cackling 'Never!' over and over again followed by Shadow, Luna and Kate who was roaring: "Get back here you silver-headed punk and give it to me!"

Kellyn sweat dropped at the whole scene.

'_Well, at least they're having fun_' he thought. He gently stroked the back of one of the turtle doves. He wondered whether he should chase after them '_Probably not. Starlight's secret can't be that life-changing anyway._'


	17. Time to party!

**"I never thought I'd end up as a babysitter."**

**"PDA Alert."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Seventeen – Time to party!**

Luna sighed with exasperation as she curled her forked tail over her eyes, her head resting on her white paws. Her human was kneeling on his bunk, acting like a total Gardevior and debating on what shirt to wear to the Christmas party. Luna wouldn't be going - she and Shadow were going to celebrate the holiday with some other Pokémon near Ranger School in a massive snowball fight down by the beach, inspired by Keith and Liam's game the other week. But Kellyn was, and he was having a panic attack over something as trivial as deciding what shirt to wear.

'**And I'm supposed to make a hero out of this guy?**' she thought '**Lunick, what in Arceus' name have you asked me to do?**'

_'Okay Luna_' Kellyn held up two shirts '_Take your pick, red or blue._'

Luna gave another exasperated sigh and rolled her indigo eyes. She knew exactly why Kellyn was being so antsy about his clothing choice and was very well aware of the fact Kate Hitomi would compliment him if he walked in wearing a lace dress let alone a certain colour shirt.

"_**Blue**_" she told him.

'_Are you sure_? _I was thinking the red may look better_...'

"_**So why are you asking me if you've already made up your mind?**_"

'_But I don't know if I should wear the red one. That's why I'm asking you._'

Luna put her paw to her forehead. This human was really giving her a real headache with his fashion worries! And he was a guy! The only time Lunick acted this vain was when he was preparing for Solana's thirteenth birthday party - now that was a nightmare!

"_**If you're so determined on wearing the red, wear it!**_" she told him bluntly "_**Stop having a panic attack over it!**_"

'_But I don't know if I should wear the red one since..._'

"_**Cut it out already!**_" Luna leapt to her feet "_**Stop acting like a crazed schoolgirl who's been asked out on a date**_!" Kellyn folded his arms.

'_I am not acting like a crazed schoolgirl_!' he protested.

Luna sighed. "_**Alright, who are you dressing for?**_"

The only time someone had ever acted like this was when Plusle desperately wanted to impress Minun at Murph's birthday party and spent all day grooming herself. Of course Luna knew the answer to her question - she just wanted to hear Lunick say it.

'_What do you mean_?' Kellyn protested '_I'm not dressing for anyone_!'

"_**Really, well why do you suddenly care about what you're wearing now?**_" Luna asked, determined to get some answers out of Kellyn.

'_Well I...er...I didn't need to care before_' he answered.

"_**Excuses, excuses**_" Luna shook her head in exasperation.

'_Look, I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of this Luna. I'm just asking you what T-shirt I should wear._'

Luna gave a yowl of frustration and began yanking on her lower ears.

"_**The blue one!**_" she told him, Kellyn repeated her choice "_**Yes! Now wear it!**_"

'_Are you sure_? _Because I..._'

"_**WILL YOU STOP IT!**_"

Luna lost total control and a blue line of electricity zipped out of her jewel. Kellyn gave a squeak of fear and rolled to the side of it. He was then stunned speechless. Luna had never attacked him before, no matter how annoyed she got. He stared out of the window and blinked as he saw the sun had already set.

'_Ah_!_ I'm gonna be late to the party_!' Hastily, he slipped the blue T-shirt on and leapt down from the top bunk-bed. As he flung himself out the door, he called back '_Thanks Luna_!' before running towards the cafeteria.

Rolling her eyes, Luna collapsed from relief and exhaustion.

"_**When I promised him this, I never thought I'd end up as a baby-sitter! Or a counsellor!**_"

* * *

><p>Kellyn, to his luck, had found that he wasn't the only one late to the party. Nick and Liam had apparently gotten themselves lost on the way back to Ranger School - how Kellyn would never know - and they had arrived only a second before him, so his late arrival wasn't all that conspicuous.<p>

Everyone was just milling around at the moment whilst someone was starting to turn on the DJ box. Kellyn found Kate with Keith who was, predictably, at the food table. He was leaning over an enormous cake that Cook and Janice had made for the party.

**Hi guys. Where's Starlight?**

"Hi Kellyn" Kate smiled, since Keith was too delusionised by the cake "Starlight? I think he said something about going to the toilet. He'll be back in a minutes and... Keith no!" Kate saw the saliva starting to pour from her friend's mouth and she instinctively pulled her companion away before any saliva could get on the delicious baked specialty. "Keith!"

"What?"

"You're drooling! Right above the cake!"

"Oh, sorry" Keith mumbled and wiped the corner of his mouth with his red sleeve.

"Keith no!" Kate grabbed his shoulders and shook them before holding a napkin out to him "That's disgusting! Use a napkin!"

"Alright Neat Freak" Keith did so and threw the napkin away in the bin that was already piling up with used napkins and sweet wrappers. Automatically he went back to boggling at the cake.

"Keith, you're really starting to scare me now" Kate commented.

**Yeah, if it wasn't for Kate that cake would be long gone by now**

"Oh, hi Kellyn, when did you get here?" Keith finally noticed his friend.

Kellyn rolled his eyes, pointedly deciding not to answer.

"Keith, step away from the cake" Kate told him sternly.

"But it looks so good!" Keith whined "It's so big and white and creamy and—"

Keith would have probably have gone on about thus wonderful cake until the middle of_next_ Christmas, but thankfully Principle Lamont had chosen then to tap the microphone on the some-what stage the DJ box was on to get everyone's attention.

"Students, teachers, operators, rangers and mechanics" he said "I'm sure all of you are excited for Christmas tomorrow—" He was cut off by students cheering wildly, lead by Liam. "I'll take that as a definite yes. I wish to remind you that all Pokémon projects will be presented on Boxing Day." Kate and Kellyn winked at each other as the Principle continued. "So, for all your hard work this term, I give you this night to enjoy yourselves—"

"SO LET'S PARTY!"

Everyone diverted their attention to the DJ box where Kaplan had begun playing excruciatingly loud, upbeat music.

"Kaplan! That's too loud!" Principle Lamont was among those, mainly teachers, who covered their ears.

"What Boss?" Kaplan asked, yelling over the music that was probably loud enough to bring Almia Castle crashing down in the Hia Mountains miles away from here.

"That's too loud!"

"Whaaaat?"

"Great Arceus Kaplan, he said it's too loud!" Claire now yelled at her idiot husband.

"I can't hear you guys, the music's up too loud! Lemme turn it down for ya'!" Kalpan called, turning the music down to a bearable pitch "What was it you were saying Boss?"

Miss April face-palmed, Claire rolled her eyes, Kincaid was seething with anger but had been doing so since the beginning of the party, and Principle Lamont sweat-dropped.

"Never mind Kaplan, just keep the volume down low" he sighed.

"Oh Boss! Don't ruin all the fun!" Kaplan pouted, but agreed to keeping the volume on that level eventually.

"Ha! Mr Kaplan never changes!" Keith laughed.

"Look who this is coming from" put in Kate, causing Keith to pout and Kellyn to snort with silent laughter.

"Oh you think you're so clever!" he snorted, slamming his newly collected cup of orange juice down onto the table "You wanna take this up in a dance battle?"

Kellyn smiled. He knew Kate was a terrific dancer and could no doubt beat Keith even if she was blindfolded.

"I can beat you any time any day" the female ranger-trainee grinned "Wanna join in Kellyn?"

Kellyn poured himself a glass of lemonade and shook his head. He couldn't dance, and the last time he had tried Clio had laughed her head off at it. He wasn't going through that again, and he didn't want to ruin Kate's fun.

"Oh come on, the more the merrier" Kate begged and he shook his head again "Do you not like dancing?" He didn't answer, just took a sip of lemonade "Or is that that you can't dance?"

Kellyn gave her a meek nod. Kate smiled, grabbed his wrist and dragged him towards the dance floor where the majority of the school was dancing. Kellyn had to put down his cup to stop him from dropping it. He frantically shook his head.

"Oh come on!" Kate smiled "I'll show you!" Kellyn shook his head again "It's easy!" And again "Oh don't be a meanie!" You get the idea by now " Please Kelly!"

Now _that_ spurred a reaction. Kellyn's blue-green eyes blazed as he emitted a low growl. Kate raised an eyebrow, letting go of his wrist.

"What's with the Houndoom face?" she asked "When since did you get angry?"

"Um...Kate" Keith's smile had faded slightly "I think it's the nickname."

"What, Kelly?" Kate asked. Kellyn gave off another low growl and clenched his fists.

"Yup, that's the trigger" Keith nodded.

"What's wrong with Kelly?" Kate inquired.

Seeing that Kellyn was about to explode with anger, Keith quickly tried to get Kate to see sense. "Well, it's a bit...patronising."

"You said that about Starlight too."

"Yes, for the same reason."

"What's so patronising about Kelly?" Kate waved her arms in the air to emphasise her frustrated point.

"Well, it's a girl's name for a start."

Kellyn nodded vigorously, agreeing with Keith full-heartedly.

"So? You call him Kel. That's not exactly a full-on masculine name."

"It's not as bad as Kelly."

Kellyn rolled his eyes at the argument and cleared his throat, wincing slightly at the clenching pain as he did. They both looked at him. He folded his arms and gave them an 'Um...feel like asking my opinion on the matter?' look.

"Oh fine..._Kellyn_" Kate emphasised his name, then smiled sweetly "Do you want me to teach you how to dance?"

Kellyn considered the offer, then nodded his head. Keith yipped with joy and threw his arms into the air.

"Alright! Three-way dance battle!" he cheered.

At the mention of the words 'dance battle', people began to clear out a square in the middle of the dance floor for the two competitors. Kaplan busied himself doing...something with the DJ box. Kellyn shrugged, looks like his dance lessons would have to wait. But hey, he was looking forward to seeing the look on Keith's face when he was beaten by Kate.

He took one last drink from his lemonade before following the gingers towards the dance floor.

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to Kellyn, two Pokémon were watching through the window of the cafeteria. A certain Umbreon and Espeon. See, Luna and Shadow had been on the way to their epic Christmas snowball fight, but wanted to check what their humans were up to first. They had been watching all those with a K at the beginning of their name. Currently, loud music was exploding from the cafeteria. Keith was break dancing, and at this current moment was spinning on his head. Kate and Kellyn were standing at the front of the crowd next to each other. Kate whispered something to Kellyn that no one but him in the room could hear, but Luna's psychic abilities picked it up as:<p>

"Nice shirt."

"_**Ha! Take that Kellyn!**_" Luna laughed, making Shadow jump, although this was a normal occurrence so Luna didn't apologise for it, however she did explain why she was laughing. "_**That'll teach him to argue with me!**_"

As she spoke, both Pokémon noticed Kellyn turned his head away from Kate so she wouldn't see an unmistakable blush.

"_**Do you see that?**_" Luna gasped, smiling.

"_**Yup**_" Shadow nodded "_**PDA Alert**_."

"_**PD-what?**_" Luna cocked her head to the side.

"_**PDA, Public Display of Affection?"**_ Shadow asked, getting a wide-eyed look from Luna "_**What? Starlight comes up with some weird things.**_"

"_**Ah**_" Luna nodded and turned her attention to the window.

"_**Eclipse?**_" Shadow asked.

"_**Yes Shadow?**_"

"_**Has Kellyn been acting strange lately?**_"

"_**A bit yeah. Like, he spent half-an-hour trying to decide what to wear for this party. I had to almost zap him to get him out of it.**_"

"_**You're joking.**_"

"_**Nope, and he's been acting all spaced-out and jumpy ever since he caught her from falling off that stepladder.**_"

"_**Strange. You see, I've been watching Kate. After the whole decorations thing, she spent, like, an hour trying to find an outfit that she thought 'he would like'. It was ridiculous."**_

"_**Hmm**_" Luna swished her white forked tail in thought. Then her indigo eyes widened with realisation "_**Shadow?**_"

"_**Yeah Eclipse?**_"

"_**You don't suppose they like each other, do you?**_"

"_**What!**_" Shadow leapt back in shock, his red eyes wide "_**Kellyn and Katherine! Don't be silly!**_"

"_**I'm serious Shadow!**_"

The Umbreon looked at the defiant glare in the Espeon's eyes as she spoke these words, and started to ponder over them.

"_**I-I...I don't know**_" he sighed "_**Hey, we'd better get a move on. Staraptor and Blastoise will want to start the snowball fight ASAP. And if we're late again, Blastoise...**_" He broke off and shivered.

"_**ASAP?**_ " Luna asked, her slight violent moment behind her "_**Where does Starlight get all this stuff?**_"

"_**Dunno, books and Keith probably**_" Shadow let a ripple run from his shoulders down to his flanks, a way of four-legged shrugging "_**Wanna get a move on?**_"

Luna spared her human one last glance through the window as Keith vacated the dance floor and Kate stepped up to the plate.

"_**Yeah, let's**_" she nodded.

The two Pokémon jumped off the crates they'd been standing on to look through the window and disappeared into a mixture of snow, woods and darkness.

* * *

><p>Starlight came out of the kitchen where he'd been helping Janice cook some extra snacks to be met with a very odd sight. Make that Keith running towards him in tears, waving his arms in the air above his head as he ran.<p>

"Starlight!" he cried "It's terrible! Horrible! The worst thing that's ever happened to me!"

He latched himself onto the older boy, burying his face in his blue jacket, bawling his eyes out.

"Let me guess, the buffet table ran out of chocolate flapjacks? Or was it éclairs?" Starlight sighed.

Keith wiped the tears from his brown eyes as he stood up by himself again, allowing Starlight to wring out his jacket.

"No! I mean, yes, the buffet table has run out of chocolate, but that's not the point!" Keith cried "Why didn't someone tell me Kate could smash my unbeatable record in a dance battle?!"

"Because somebody charged off into a dance battle without listening to Kellyn or I" Starlight answered, folding his arms "We tried to warn you we saw Kate dancing when we were checking that the DJ box was working before the party, but who wouldn't listen?"

Keith bit his lip and then pouted. "Do I at least get the chocolate for effort?"

* * *

><p>The rest of the party went reasonably well. After she had finished smashing Keith's Wailord-sized ego down to size, Kate went back to her promised task of teaching Kellyn how to dance. Most of the songs were crazy and upbeat, but after about a hour of this, Claire had enough and physically kicked Kaplan out of the cafeteria to make way for a few slow songs. It didn't last long though because Kaplan was quickly back in action and booming the Black-Eyed Peas across the cafeteria.<p>

"Hey Kellyn" Kellyn turned around from where he'd been leaning again a table watching Nick and Liam performing a break dancing routine and saw Kate. "I'm going outside. Wanna come?"

Kellyn shrugged and agreed.

However, on the other side of the cafeteria, a certain trio were planning something a bit more sinister than Musical Bumps. Starlight leant against the buffet table and took a sip from his plastic cup which contained an orange mixture which he guessed was orange squash. As he continued watching Nick and Liam's stupidity (he was a little disappointed with Nick because he thought the younger of the two would know better), Rhythmi walked over to him.

"Enjoying the party?" she asked. Starlight shrugged.

It's okay, is guess I'm not a party person" he said.

Rhythmi poured herself a glass of Ribena and ate a slice of cold pizza before also turning to watch the show. About half a minute later, Keith pushed through the crowd, a large grin on his face. Starlight was a little worried he may be on a sugar-high.

"Hey Star!" he grinned "You were right! Kellyn and Kate have just left!"

The silver-haired boy suddenly perked up and looked pleased, grinning: "The second step is complete!"

"Second step of what?" asked Rhythmi.

Keith turned to the blonde and cheered: "Operation You-Know-What!"

Rhythmi blinked. "No, I don't know what." She sounded like she was answering a question.

"No, he didn't mean..." Starlight put down his cup and face-palmed "He meant the quest is called Operation You-Know-What."

"It has a better name, but Kellyn and Kate would guess what the quest was if we used it" Keith added.

"Oh" Rhythmi blinked again "And, er, why can't Kellyn and Kate find out?"

"That would ruin the surprise silly!" Keith laughed "Come on! Everything in place! I want to see the looks on their faces!"

* * *

><p>The booming sounds of the pop music were slowly being washed away. The rhythmic slapping sounds of the waves impaling themselves on the cliffs could be heard in the darkness below them. Close to the edge of the cliff behind Kaplan and Claire's lab, Kate and Kellyn took shelter under a snow-laden pine tree on the fringe of the forest. Kate had picked up a bag as she left the cafeteria and was just adjusting the strap on her left shoulder.<p>

"I take it you're not one for parties either, huh?" Kate asked. Kellyn shook his head "All the noise, the music, the flashing lights...nah, not my type of thing."

**Yeah, not my type of thing either**

Kate blinked as she found a piece of paper with a message on it shoved in her face. She blinked.

"Where do you find room to keep paper and a pencil?" she asked.

Kellyn pulled the paper away from her face so she could see it was on a possible A7 sized notebook. He then held up one of those tiny yellow pencils that were often used by builders and slipped both them inside the left pocket of his trousers.

"I see, space conserving" Kate commented.

Kellyn nodded. His hand tightened around the paper bag inside his right pocket. He then removed the notebook.

**Are you and the other girls doing this Secret Santa thing?**

"Yeah" Kate nodded "I got Tamie, and she's pretty easy. Get her anything with Lillipup on them." Kellyn blinked and cocked his head to the side. "Tamie's from Unova." Kellyn's blue-green eyes widened ever so slightly and he nodded with understanding. "Who have you got?"

**Ponte**

"Ah, I take it he was pretty easy then?" Kate asked.

Kellyn flicked over a new page of the tiny notebook.

**Yeah, I just got him a big tin of marshmallows and stuff like that**

"Cool, so I take it you don't have a clue who your own secret Santa is?" Kate asked.

Kellyn turned onto another new page.

**Nope, but that's the point of the game isn't it?**

"Probably, you wouldn't know with our lot" Kate shrugged "We already know Sami has Becs, Becs has Rhythmi and Rhythmi...well we're not certain about her but we think she has Verity. It's one big game of Chinese Whispers with our lot."

Kellyn just nodded again, his way of saying something along the lines of 'Yeah'. Kate exhaled and looked at him rather than staring at the stars above.

"Kellyn, I know it's not Christmas until tomorrow, but, here." She opened her bag and removed what looked like a folded piece of fabric "I made it myself."

Cautiously, in case it was fragile, Kellyn took the top of the fabric and held it up. It was a cloak, an emerald-green cloak with sleeves. The neck piece was slightly taught with a silver press-stud on the underside to keep the cloak in place.

"Go on, try it on" Kate encouraged him.

He slid his arms into the sleeves, hauled it over his shoulders and clasped the press-stud in place. He looked down at his hands and saw his fingers poking out from under the sleeves that were a little too long for him. The cloak stopped an inch above his ankles so his brown boots that his trousers were tucked into could be seen.

"Not a bad fit" Kate commented with a smile "You'll grow into the sleeves in time. Do you like the colour? Keith said it was your favourite, but you can never be too sure with Keith."

Kellyn nodded, too stunned to do much else. Finally, with a trembling hand, he wrote:

**You made this?**

"Yeah" Kate rubbed the back of her neck "See, being from Summerland, I found Almia really cold. I bought some material and made myself a scarf. But I had quite a bit left over so, instead of just throwing it away, I made this for you."

Kellyn tried to say thank you, but he knew no words on paper could express how he was feeling. But the look on Kate's face told him she understood how he was feeling.

'_Thank you Kate_' he thought.

Kate's blue eyes widened for a second and he knew what had just happened. He swallowed and she smiled again.

"You're welcome Kellyn" she replied.

Kellyn felt his hand moving to his right pocket again and decided it was now or never. He removed the small plastic bag from his pocket and then trailed his gaze for it to Kate.

"For me?" Kate asked, looking delighted.

Kellyn nodded and motioned for her to turn around, which she did. A little part of his mind made him wonder how much she trusted him, for she to turn her back on him like this. He then shook his head and removed the gift from the bag. Undoing the clasp, he slid the chain over her head and let it settle on her neck. After fixing the clasp again, he took a step back and let Kate look down at her new gift. A silver necklace with a shiny Mew on it.

"I love Mews!" Kate gasped, then looking up at Kellyn "How did you know?"

Kellyn smiled and tapped the side of his nose twice. He wasn't going to tell Kate it was Keith who suggested it. As mean as that sounded, he knew no one else would fess up to Keith giving them ideas either. Giving Keith satisfaction was the worst idea ever.

"T-Thank you" she stammered "You know, we match now. We both have something to remember each other by."

Kellyn just grinned. They just stared into each other's eyes, blue-green on pure blue.

"Oi! You two love birds!"

The pair of them jumped and saw a trio of people they did not want to see walking towards them. Make that Starlight, Rhythmi and Keith. It was the ginger who had called them out.

"Look up!" he now called to them.

The two looked up and almost died of embarrassment. Hanging above them was an olive-green branch with white berries attached to a branch by some faded red rope.

'_Mistletoe_?' he thought '_But that's impossible. Mistletoe doesn't grow in this area of Almia_...' Something from earlier that day dawned on him '_Starlight..._' He remembered the silver-haired boy had been hiding something behind his back '..._You. Are. So. Dead_!'

He glared at the older boy. Kate must have been on the same train of thought because she did the exact same thing at the exact same time.

"Go on you two!" Keith called again as the two causer of this trouble and Rhythmi approached "Are you gonna kiss or what?"

Kellyn and Kate looked at each other awkwardly. Kate rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"W-We don't have to if you don't want to" she stuttered "I-It's just a silly tradition."

She laughed nervously. Kellyn nodded, not quite sure of how to reply. Subconscious, they took a step towards each other and their heads leant in...

Kellyn's heart nearly burst out of his chest in shock as he felt Kate's lips brush against his own. His heart racing at 100 miles an hour, he leapt back. Thankfully, Kate had done the same things at the same time. The pair of them were redder than tomatoes, staring at each other in another awkward silence. Rhythmi clapped happily, Starlight folded his arms and smiled whilst Keith practically jumped into the air as he cheered.

"Wah-hoo!" he cheered "First kiss under the mistletoe! Your plans are awesome Star! Operation Mistletoe, complete!"

That reminded Kate why she had just done what she had done. She turned and glared at Starlight. The silver-haired teen backed away nervously, then Kate took a threatening step towards him and he turned and legged it.

"You're dead Starlight!" Kate yelled, racing after him "Get back here so I can kick your sorry butt into next week!"

Whilst Rhythmi quickly followed them to make sure Kate's didn't cause any catastrophic damage to Starlight, Keith approached Kellyn, his arms folded and smirking.

"You enjoyed that far too much" he smirked.

A second later, Keith found himself lying in the snow on his back, sporting a very dark black eye.


	18. Frightened Memory

**"Do you have a name?"**

**"****Everyone has their childhood quirks now and again."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Eighteen – Frightened Memory**

'I didn't want to! I didn't! I didn't!'

_He wasn't sure how this kept happening to him. Fait and her sister Destiny seemed to hate him. Or Dialga for sure. At least, that we how it felt._

_He lay circled up amongst the crusting autumn leaves in a foetal position, whimpering softly to himself as he gripped the dark hair on the back of his head tightly. Around him lay the unconscious forms of four men, their two pickup tucks overturned. Police, maybe rangers, he wasn't sure. What difference did it make? They all wanted to destroy him._

_He'd never asked for these powers - he never wanted them. Apparently he'd inherited them from his biological father when he was killed in a Tauros stampede. It made him think of the Luxray King every time he thought of that, but this was no Disney movie. There was no happy endings in real life. This was a perfect example. His adopted parents hadn't known about these powers when they first adopted him, neither did he for that matter._

_Things had started happening when he was six. Things would move without him touching them, light bulbs would turn on when he merely looked at them and some other things would just go missing and turn up a week later. It was like one of those cliché ghost stories. It was seven when he knew something was wrong._

_He'd been mute for as long as he could remember, he could never remember being able to speak, yet there was no sensible answer why he shouldn't be able to. He'd been bullied constantly about it; pelted with stones, tripped in the school corridors and many other things, quite simply because he couldn't scream for help or tell the teacher what had happened. _

_It was during one of these bullying sessions it first happened. _

_He'd been pinned up against a wall by three boys who were many years older than him. Punch after punch, blow after blow. Suddenly, something snapped. Like all the angry emotions inside him had just blown out all at once. One second he'd been scared and terrified, the next he felt a burning fire start to burn inside him, and finally he found himself slumped at the base of the wall, trembling as he stared at the three unconscious bodies lying in the snow around him. He hadn't touch them, they'd just been thrown back by a wave of his own energy. A few days later, the bullies came back to school. It was a relief to him as, being only seven, he had feared they were dead. Two had broken arms, another a fractured leg. Their mumbled excuse was they'd fallen down the leader's stairs at home, but he knew better. He had caused those injuries._

_After that, his powers began acting wild. At one point, three students and a teacher had been put in hospital, but they couldn't prove it was him. But people seemed to know he was different, that he was dangerous. He was now nine, but they hadn't stopped. His powers had only got worse. Only three days ago, he'd found himself scared and alone, and had caused the school's corridor to cave in. It was too suspicious for him to call it a coincidence, that he'd been standing in that corridor panicking when it collapsed. And then there was today. He'd just be walking to school, clutching his teddy bear for comfort, when the discovered two shiny black cars were following him. The sudden cracking of bullets was all he needed to hear. His natural instincts forced him to flee, even though that only made him seem guilty. His backpack on his back and his teddy bear in his arms, he'd ran to the woods, where he lost himself amongst the trees. Night had fallen; he'd been knocked to the ground and found four rifles pointing at him. Staring down the barrel of gun only made him even more nervous; he could feel the flame stirring inside him, ready to be released in an act of self-defence. He tried in vain to talk to the ones surrounding him, squeaks and grunts begging them to stop. But they hadn't, they just kept barking orders at him. Curling into the position he was in now, he felt the wind roar and expel itself outwards from him. He heard the whooshing of flying leaves and the cries of pain as the four were sent flying, but he daren't looked up._

_Slowly, he removed his hands from his matted hair and wrapped his fingers around his teddy bear that had been sheltered below him. He froze as he heard the rustling of leaves. Had backup come? Was he in danger again? He looked up, his blue eyes wide with fear, but it wasn't a policeman._

_Above him was a ranger. He appeared to be mid-twenties with wild green hair - some sort of complicated headset was tangled in it - and soft mint eyes that didn't quite meet his. On his shoulder was a Fearow, and at his feet a Minun. The Minun scampered towards him, and the boy immediately shuffled backward, his heart racing. His flame was exhausted from the previous explosion so he knew he wasn't able to essentially blow himself up, but he could probably send one of these Pokémon or that man flying if he got riled up about it._

_Slowly, as if not to frighten him, the man raised his hand._

_"You have nothing to fear" he told the boy "I'm not here to harm you." _

_The boy looked at the sleeve of the man's red jacket. A black, white and orange badge was on it. He was a ranger._

_"My name is Spenser" the man explained "This is my partner Fearow," he patted the head of the bird Pokémon on his shoulder "And that's Minun." He turned his gaze to the Pokémon investigating the boy's shoelaces, then turned his green gaze to match the boy's blue one "Do you have a name?"_

_The boy hugged the teddy bear against his chest tightly, staring down at the ground. Normally he would never trust a ranger, but something seemed...different about this one. Like he was actually suggesting he would help him. _

_He coughed and he almost gasped at how his throat seemed to loosen a lot more than normal. He looked up at Spenser and did something he had never done before. He spoke his name._

_"Lunick."_

* * *

><p>As the occupants of the Pokémon world slept, it was a different story elsewhere. A boy of about fourteen or fifteen sat upon the edge of a walkway, letting his legs dangle into the endless expanse of darkness below him. He brushed a lock of midnight-blue hair out of his aqua eyes, his hand irritating the scar across his left eye and causing him to flinch. After the short pain had subsided, he turned his gaze down to the item in his hands. An old worn teddy bear that had definitely seen better days. About half-a-foot in length with black buttons for eyes, a brown button for a nose and stitched smiling mouth. It had probably been covered in fur completely at one point, but in a lot of places the fur had pulled away, leaving the thin brown netting visible.<p>

"We've been through a lot together, eh Lennie?" the boy smiled.

"_**You didn't strike me as the type to talk to stuffed toys, Lunick**_" The black, red and gold serpentine Pokémon known as Giratina hovered into view behind him in its origin form.

"Everyone has their childhood quirks now and again" Lunick shrugged.

Giratina scoffed. "_**I don't even remember my childhood**_" he mumbled, then looked back down at Lunick "_**What 'quirks'? You have the mentality of someone of over fifty, yet you act like a child almost constantly**_**.**"

"Not my fault I was killed at fifteen" Lunick shrugged.

Giratina merely grunted in response and directed its gaze elsewhere. The human let out a long sigh and gently rubbed his thumb over the bare netting on the side of the teddy bear's, Lennie, forehead.

"He's in danger, I know it" he sighed.

"_**Still worrying over that human?**_"

"Yes. Him, and the others" Lunick nodded. His aqua eyes hardened and his gaze seemed to pierce through the endless darkness "Times are difficult now Giratina. They're all in danger, all of them. Not just Kellyn, all the ones I hold close."

"_**Does this mean you've unravelled those two prophecies?**_" Giratina asked.

"Yes" answered Lunick in a small voice.

Giratina gave him a look that plainly said 'Keep going'. He sighed and explained:

"The first shouldn't be of any concern, at least, not yet: **'Lightning strikes the forest, a ray of warmth shall absorb it, at Ho-Oh's Howe. Fire burns the seasoned earth, a ray of warmth shall smother it, at Ho-Oh's Howe. Water floods the swaying fields, a ray of warmth shall evaporate it, at Ho-Oh's Howe. Eons soar across the darkening sky, a ray of warmth shall sooth them, at Ho-Oh's Howe. Birds fill the sky with dread, a ray of warmth shall bring hope to them, at Ho-Oh's Howe. A legacy is born, a child is lost, a ray of warmth shall bring peace to all, at Ho-Oh's Howe**.'" Lunick took a deep breath and looked up at Giratina to show he was done.

The Renegade Pokémon blinked. "_**Ray of warmth? Ho-Oh's Howe?**_" Giratina shook his head "_**What's the last one?**_" Lunick looked away, staring over the endless expanse of darkness "_**This is the prophecy that worries you. Am I correct?**_"

Lunick gave a small nod. "'**A child with two colours of eyes, with the gift of ancient Pokémon, shall by the snow-drawn Espeon, decide the fait of all the regions of the world'**."

Giratina's eyes widened. "_**You don't mean... You can't be serious!**_"

"It wouldn't be the first time Dialga has chosen to put the fait of our world in the hands of a teenager" Lunick reminded him "First Spenser, then Solana and I, why not a third time?"

"_**This isn't a well-trained teenager Lunick! This is a trainee and a child at that! Not even an apprentice! And above all he's mute and we all know that—**_"

"I was once mute" Lunick cut in.

Giratina was about it say something, then realised what he had just said and tried to cover it up. "_**I mean, mutes aren't all that bad! I mean, they're often kinder, more sensitive, great friends, shy and...wait, shy as in a good way okay! I mean I—!**_"

"Giratina, how many times must I tell you?" Lunick sighed "When at the bottom of a very deep hole..."

"_**Yeah, yeah. I know. Stop digging**_" Giratina finished with a sigh "_**So, you're worried about what the future has in store for this boy?**_"

"In short, yes" Lunick nodded "And I'm going to help him face this."

"_**But you're dead.**_"

"Yup, nice detective skills Sherlock."

"_**So how are you going to help him whilst stuck here?**_"

"I have my ways. Plus, he won't be completely alone. He has them."

"_**You seriously think a bunch of kids, an Umbreon with confidence issues and a shiny Espeon with ADHD can take this on?**_"

"Why not? A bunch of kids, a Plusle and Minun and a shiny Espeon with 'ADHD' was all it took to take down the Go-Rock Squad."

Giratina said nothing, just staring off into space and ignoring Lunick's presence. After an awkward minute of just sitting there, Lunick stood up, Lennie in one hand, and walked towards the end of the walkway.

"_**Wait**_" Giratina's voice stopped him and made him turn around "_**I still don't understand. Why are you so worried about this child?**_"

Lunick raised his aqua gaze so to take on Giratina's black and red one. "Why else? He's my only brother."

And with that he turned and disappeared into the shadows of the Christmas dawn.


	19. Christmas Truth

**"Don't be such a downer!"**

**"Some people take time to learn to trust others."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Nineteen – Christmas Truth**

Kellyn wasn't quite sure how he was going to be woken on Christmas Morning, but he more than sure Keith would be to blame. He thought maybe a zillion alarm clocks piling the floor and just about every accessible space in the room or being woken up by a water gun filled with whipped cream or water bombs, something like that. But no, Keith had something much more devious planned.

Kellyn smiled as he woke for a peaceful sleep. His hazy vision made out two spots of white in front of his face. A little confused, he blinked and tried to wake himself up more. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on ends as he realised there were two plastic eyes inches from his face.

Squeaking with alarm, he threw the privacy intruder into the air. The stuffed toy hippo, as Kellyn now realised that was it was, flew through the air and, by dumb luck, landed on top of Ponte. The thickset boy squealed with fear and the hippo was thrown into the air again. This time, it landed on the floor in the centre of the room. Something inside the hippo suddenly went

**POOF!**

Within seconds, the room was filled with artificial smoke. Those who hadn't been woken by Ponte squealing like a girl were immediately woken by the smell of the artificial smoke - i.e. cotton candy.

"What the... cough! cough!" Nick spluttered as he shot up in bed, rubbing his brown eyes to clear them of the smoke.

Kellyn blinked and was then filled with rage as he heard insane cackling coming from his bottom bunk. He peered his head over the side and saw Keith rolling around on the bed, clutching his stomach, in tears of laughter. Kellyn looked over at Starlight who was sitting up, giving Keith a glare that probably translated as: 'I-will-personally-kill-you-later-but-I-want-my-present-first'. Kellyn sent Keith the same glare.

"You'll - cough - die for this - cough cough - Dazuru!" Liam glared at the boy across the room from him who had just rolled off his bunk in hysterical laughter.

"Yeah! - cough - Where'd ya find - cough cough - the smoke machine - cough - anyway?" Nick joined in.

Ponte coughed twice before ducking under his duvet to protect himself from the smoke. Kellyn protected his mouth with his sleeve so he wouldn't end up in the same fix as Nick and Liam.

"**Whoa. What bomb went off in there?**"

"_**Yeah. What happened?**_"

Kellyn turned as saw Shadow and Luna at the window, peering through it in curiosity. He didn't blame them.

'_Keith happened_' he answered _'He set a smoke bomb off in his stuffed Hippowdon_!'

"_**Well, be fair, he could have done worse**_" Luna pointed out. Kellyn raised an eyebrow "_**He could have set the room on fire. Or drowned you all by dismembering the plumbing.**_"

"**Fire! Where?**" Shadow blinked into attention and began looking around in fear.

Kellyn rolled his eyes. One word: paranoid.

_'It's __**dismantled**__ the plumbing, but yeah, suppose_' Kellyn shrugged _'You guys sticking around_?'

"_**Nah, Rushweed's got a party over at his place-" Luna shook her head "-And it's a bad idea to ignore an invitation from a Vaporeon with anger issues.**_"

'_Er..._' Kellyn blinked '_I'll take your word for it. Have fun._'

"_**Will do!**_" Luna beamed and nodded, then thwacking Shadow's flank with her forked tail, causing the Umbreon to squeak with alarm but stop panicking "_**Come on Mr Paranoid!**_"

Luna metaphorically dragged her companion beyond the window, out of sight.

With the Pokémon out of the equation, Kellyn turned his attention to the humans. The hippo plushie, apparently named 'Mr Snuggles' or, as Liam called it, 'Big Mouth', had finally stopped producing smoke. Keith had removed the mini smoke machine from the hippo and buried the device in his 'drawer of many random things' which was locked with seven different padlocks each needing to be opened by a different key. Now everyone was getting dressed. Taking his cue, Kellyn pushed himself off the end of the bunkbed and landed on the carpeted floor on his feet in front of his set of drawers. Hurriedly, he put on some jeans and a green shirt as well as his locket. He smiled at the cloak Kate had given to him, folded neatly on the left hand side of the drawer, before pushing it shut.

"Hey Kellyn! Catch!"

Kellyn jumped as the present Keith had chucked hit him on the shoulder. Looking around in fear, his eyes finally settled on the large cylinder-shaped box wrapped in blue paper with waving snowmen on it on the floor. Sighing with relief that it wasn't another smoke bomb, Kellyn picked the box up. It had been previously stored in Keith's 'drawer of many random things'; Kellyn thought the seven padlocks may the be only things capable of keeping Ponte away from his present.

Staring down at the present in his hands, Kellyn's brain tried to process what was going on. Presents, presents...Christmas...Christmas...It's Christmas!

'_Finally_! _I thought today would never come_!' he grinned, thinking to himself '_I have to see Kate_! _I bet she has some awesome Chris—_'

His thoughts trailed off as he remember what had gone down between him and Kate last night. He blushed, then hit himself and rubbed his eyes with his sleeve, white pupils narrowing dangerously.

'_Get over it_! _It was just Keith being an idiot_! _It. Was. Just. Keith_!'

"Hey Kel!" Speaking of Keith... "Wanna sit with us? We're opening our Secret Santa presents."

Kellyn grinned, all thoughts of Kate leaving his head. He crossed the room in two bounds and sat between Keith and Starlight in a circle on the carpeted floor. Even Isaac had agreed to sit with them for long enough to give and receive his present.

"Okay, so, who's going first?" Liam was saying from side to side, his ankles crossed beneath him, in anticipation.

"Can I go?" Nick asked, a little shyly. Liam shrugged and nodded "Alright then. This is for you Keith."

Nick handed the now very bouncy ginger a present about the size of a board game, wrapped in red with mini Rudolphs smiling decorated on it. Eagerly, Keith practically tore the paper to shreds in a mad dash to get to his present; it took a while, since Nick had stuck to his 'just to be sure' nature and practically bandaged the present in Sellotape. Then Keith squeaked at a pitch normally inaccessible to any voice and began waving the box in the air with both hands. Instantly everyone else in the dorm room groaned.

"My own 1001 jokes kit!" Keith squeaked with joy "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you Nicky!"

Keith swooped in to give Nick a big hug, but the brunet quickly dodged out the way.

"Don't call me Nicky" Nick folded his arms and narrowed his brown eyes.

"Yeah yeah, don't be such a downer!" Keith grinned "Next!"

Ponte cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. He was holding a thin present wrapped in dark-blue wrapping paper with snowflakes on it.

"T-This is for you Starlight" he gulped, handing Starlight the present "It's just, you haven't exactly been here long so I wasn't really sure what you'd like, so I asked a friend who said I..."

"A star finder?" Starlight frowned with surprise as he held the circular flat present up to the light. In the time Ponte had been babbling, Starlight had already unwrapped his rather unusual present.

"Y-Yeah" Ponte stammered, probably with worry "You know, with your name being Starlight and all and the way you like to be outside at night, I thought you'd find it useful." Ponte's dark eyes widened "B-But if you don't like it I can take it back and just give..."

"It's great Ponte" Starlight smiled at the nervous boy "Really. Thanks."

Ponte opened his mouth, probably to babble again, then stopped and shrunk back, hugging his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.

"Isaac, you wanna go next?" Keith asked.

Isaac nodded and, to the receiver's horror, pushed his present wrapped in brown paper over to Liam. Nervously, Liam removed the brown paper...

Liam blinked

Then he blinked again

Everyone else blinked

"Football through the Ages" Liam read the cover of the book he had just unwrapped.

"Well you're always telling everyone about that sport, I thought you might what to read some actual facts about it" he commented matter-of-factly with a shrug.

"Er, wow" Kellyn could tell by the look on Liam's face he had been expecting some much worse than this "Thanks, Isaac."

Kellyn elbowed Keith.

"What?" the ginger hissed, rubbing his arm where Kellyn's elbow had made contact. Kellyn gestured at Isaac. Keith's brown eyes widened with understanding and he nodded.

"Isaac, here" Keith handed Isaac his present. It was Isaac's turn to blink now.

"An international book voucher?" he asked.

"Yeah" Keith folded his arms behind his head "Sorry mushroom-dude. I just had no clue what book you didn't actually have. So Kel here said I should give ya that so you can get whatever book ya want."

"Thank you. That was thoughtful, Keith, Kellyn" Isaac thanked them "Just one question. Why is the voucher decorated with yellow and white cartoon mushrooms?"

Kellyn glared at Keith; the ginger said nothing.

"My go!" Liam grinned. He shoved a long present at Nick.

Nick held the present, now unwrapped, up for everyone to see. Kellyn really didn't know what to say.

"Socks?" Nick asked Liam. The socks were grey with several little Shinx running around the top of them.

"Yeah, you're favourite Pokémon is Shinx" Liam grinned proudly "So, I was thinking to myself: 'Now Liam. You know Nick loves Shinx, so you should buy him the first thing you see with a Shinx on it!' So I saw those socks and I knew they would be the present ever!"

Silence.

"Er...thank you...Liam" Nick finally managed to say.

"Righty-o!" Liam was still grinning "NEXT!"

"Ah! Not so loud!" Nick complained, nursing his ears. He sighed "Starlight? You wanna go next?"

Starlight looked at the floor, his silver bangs hiding his eyes. Kellyn looked at him in worry.

'_Is something wrong with him_?' he couldn't help up wonder.

Starlight then sat up and looked at the boy sitting next to him.

"This one's for you Kellyn" he announced.

He then picked a box up from beneath his knee (he, like Kellyn, had been sitting cross-legged on the floor) and gave it to Kellyn. It was a small velvet box, the type used for containing jewellery. He opened it and forgot to breathe. Inside was a silver locket with a pattern on the front. He opened the catch and looked at the inside. On the right was an engraving of an Espeon. Its stately head was raised proudly and it's forked tail was curled downward near its hind ankles. On the left half of the locket, were thirteen signatures - one for each of his classmates. Somehow, they had lifted his signature from somewhere too; must have lifted it from one of his textbooks or his homework.

Kellyn was lost for words, even if he was capable of saying any.

"Do you like it?" Starlight asked nervously "I saw the old locket you were always wearing, so I thought you would like a new one, with new memories."

Kellyn gave Starlight a teary smile.

**I love it**

Starlight gave a sigh of relief, removing a lock of silver hair from behind his right ear.

"Alrighty then!" Keith grinned, removing the locket from the box and opening the clasp "Let's take this old one off and then w..."

But Keith didn't get to finish. On the word 'off', Kellyn's eyes widened with terror and he scrambled backwards away from the circle.

"Kellyn?" Starlight looked confused "Something wrong?"

Kellyn didn't reply, just sat there shivering and cupping his old rusting locket between his hands, looking terrified at the thought of anyone touching it let alone taking it off him.

"You don't want to take your old locket off?" Nick asked.

Kellyn shook his head as rapidly and wildly as possible.

"It means a lot to you?" Keith guessed.

Kellyn gave a tiny nod, his white pupils locked on the floor.

"Who gave it to you?" Keith asked.

Kellyn swallowed.

**My brother**

"Oh" Keith nodded with understanding. He shared a glance with Starlight, but neither said anything.

"You have a brother?" Kellyn heard a voice say. He thought it was Liam, but couldn't be sure. His thoughts were in chaos, wandering along different paths but never reaching the summit of the hills they were climbing.

"Yeah yeah, whatevs!" Keith pulled the personal conversation away "So Kel, you wanna give Ponte your gift?"

Without looking up, Kellyn held Ponte's present out in Keith's direction. He felt it leave his hand.

Kellyn didn't register Ponte ripping the wrapping paper off his present, or his shrieks of joy when he discovered it was a large circular box stuffed with different flavoured marshmallow packets. He didn't even hear Liam groan and make vomiting noises at the idea of mint-flavoured marshmallows. He weighed the two lockets in his hands. Old, new, old, new, old, new...

Silently, Kellyn slipped the new locket into his jeans' pocket.

* * *

><p>Kellyn was scolding someone. It didn't happen very often, considering he couldn't talk. Plus his happy, positive attitude stopped him from ever getting too angry. But at the moment, the one both being scolded and doing the scolding was himself.<p>

_'Idiot_!_ Stupid, stupid, stupid_!_ Mentioning Lunick like that_!_ What if they'd guessed_?_ Stupid Kellyn_!_Moron_!_ You'll have to thank Keith for saving your hind like that_!_ Ugh...have to say thank you to Keith_...'

"Christmas is a time for jolliness usually."

Kellyn, who was lying on one of the sofas in the empty common room, looked ahead of him and saw Kate standing beyond the armrest. Her ginger hair was down and she wore jeans and a Christmas hoodie decorated with reindeer and snowflakes that was way too big for her so the cuffs started at the tips of her fingers.

"Merry Christmas!" Kate grinned, waving her hand and causing the excess sleeve to flap about.

Kellyn snorted with laughter.

"Ah" Kate realised, holding her right hand up and pointing her fingers to the ground so she could inspect the sleeve "Percy. He never knows what size clothes to get me so he eeney-meanie-minie-moes the sizes."

Kellyn almost doubled over with silent laughter. He sat back against the armrest and drew his knees up so Kate could sit in the same position opposite him.

"Your family send you gifts?" Kate asked.

Kellyn thought about that. His foster parents had sent him new clothes and Melissa a tub of styler grease to 'make sure his styler sparkled', her words. Clio and Luke had sent him a book entitled '100 ways to keep an idiot busy' and a personalised bookmark; he thought he should try it out on Keith. At the thought of family, his hand make it way up to his locket and clenched around it.

"What is that locket anyway?" Kate asked, making him flinch "I never see you without it."

Kellyn's grip tightened.

"Well, what's on the inside?"

**Photos**

"Of who?" Kate raised an eyebrow.

**Brother and sister**

"By blood?" Kate asked. Kellyn shook his head.

**Adopted**

"Not foster?" Kate carried on with the questioning. Kellyn shook his head. Kate gave him a warm smile "Can I see?"

Kellyn's blue-green eyes widened with horror for the second time that morning. Kate was the last person he wanted to know! Not because he didn't trust her, but because he didn't want to loose her. He frantically shook his head.

"Please?" Kate pressed her palms together and stuck out her bottom lip, putting on those adorable pale blue puppy-dog eyes "You don't ever need to hide anything from me." She suddenly looked concerned "You trust me, right?"

Kellyn considered this. He did trust Kate, he trusted her almost as much Luke. No, he trusted her more than Luke. More than his childhood friend he had known since he was barely a year old. Luke had known his secret and hadn't disowned him, why should Kate?

Slowly, Kellyn nodded and unclasped the locket clasp resting on the back of his neck. Removing the locket, he handed it over to an eager Kate. When she opened it, her smile faded into an unreadable expression. Kellyn was a little surprised; he had expected her to flinch or gasp or do something! Instead she did nothing for ten seconds, twenty, thirty...

"Whoa, seriously?" Kate finally asked. Kellyn nodded, miserably "That's so cool!" Kellyn looked up. He blinked. Then he blinked again. "Percy totally looked up to these guys, he still does. They were true rangers who stood up for what they believed in, even when the cost was at its highest."

Kellyn blinked a third time. This was certainly not what he had expected.

**They were outlaws though**

"Only in the eyes of the law" Kate explained "To many people, they were always heroes. Heroes who were willing to loose everything to stand up for what many believed in. Lunick and Solana stopped the Go Rock Squad, remember. If it weren't for them, I certainly wouldn't be training to be a ranger now." She gave him a warm smile. "If it weren't for them, the two of us wouldn't be here together today, would we?" Keeping her smile, Kate laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't ever feel ashamed of those you care about Kellyn. You got it?"

Kellyn looked her in the eye, baby-blue on blue-green, and smiled, feeling a huge weight lift off his shoulders.

**I needed that. Thank you Kate.**

**And Merry Christmas**

* * *

><p>Keith watched the ice-white snowflakes fall on his palm. He drew it back under the shelter of the porch and watched the snow melt into cool water. Shifting his seat on the concrete step, he watched Liam, Nick and Ponte mercilessly pelting Sami, Verity and Tamie with snowballs. Kate had her earplugs in, tapped into her iPod, and was listening to something while sketching on a big notepad. Becs was shooting rapid-fire snowballs at the wall of the training lab to practice her accuracy skills. Kellyn and Isaac were both sitting under a large tree, reading. Isaac was reading another HUGE book whilst Kellyn was reading a new book Rhythmi had bought him as a Christmas present called: Rayquaza and the Battle of the Stars.<p>

"It's not like you to gaze off into space when a snowball fight's going on." Keith jumped at the sound of Rhythmi's voice behind him. He placed his elbows on his knees and rested his chin upon his knuckles, giving a long sigh.

"Don't get me wrong, I'd _love_ to drop a snowball down Isaac's back" Keith grunted "It's just..." He let out another sigh.

"You're upset about Kellyn not saying anything?" Rhythmi guessed.

Keith didn't answer her.

"Lind always loved a white Christmas..." he mumbled instead, trailing off.

"Changing of subject hints yes" Rhythmi said.

Keith hung his head. "I just wish he'd said something, anything." He sighed for a third time. "We had to eavesdrop just to find out about his brother and sister. Who knows how many secrets he may be hiding."

Rhythmi looked across the snow-covered field over at Kellyn. The brunet boy had just smiled at something in his new book.

"Some people take time to learn to trust others, Keith" she said, not diverting her eyes "Kellyn will come round, in time. He just needs time to heal." She now looked down at Keith. "He's already opening up to Kate. Give him time, he will to us too."

Keith merely nodded. Then a small smile came upon his face and he sat up.

"As much as I hate to admit this, but, you're right" he said.

He then shot up strait as something cold and wet hit the back of his neck. He flinched as melting snow travelled down the back of his coat. He then turned his head and glared up at Rhythmi who was running across the field, laughing, towards Kate. Chuckling with amusement, Keith bunched a snowball together and stood up. Then, hollering a battle cry, he sat off after the laughing blonde.

"You're dead Rhythmi! You hear me! Six feet under! Dead!"

* * *

><p>Upon the cliff top at the back of the Ranger School, a figure stood silhouetted against the sky in a navy winter coat. Hair swaying in the wind, the figure watched the grey waves crash violently against the rocks at the base of the cliff. At the figure's feet stood a Pokémon, its midnight pelt making it contrast with the crystalline snow. Following a deep breath, two words left the figure's lips.<p>

"She knows."


	20. Meet the brothers

**"****Your boyfriend's here to see ya!"**

**"****Arceus, you sound like my nagging wife!"**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Twenty – Meet the brothers**

**Snow was falling heavily upon the market of Vientown. Soft, frozen water came down in sheets, but the lack of wind meant it couldn't be classed as a blizzard. Shin-deep snow made it impossible to travel outside without boots on and all buyers and sellers were dressed up in thick coats, scarves and gloves.**

**Kellyn Solluna glanced around the market place, his green cloak draped over his shoulders, yellow scarf around his neck and satchel hanging down by his right hip. Flicking a strand of walnut-brown hair out of his blue-green eyes, he looked at the market stalls on either side of the street, looking at both the items on the stall and those looking at them.**

**'****_Starlight's not here, great_****' he thought, rolling his eyes '****_I could use his 'superior' knowledge right now_****.' He glanced over the stalls again, feeling a knot tighten in his stomach '****_Argh, why don't they teach us how to deal with things such as this in school instead of 'the ratio of pi' or 'how to be a good citizen' or stuff like that_****?!'**

**What was Kellyn's dilemma you may ask? Well, to know that, we have to go back to Monday...**

* * *

><p><strong>Two days ago...<strong>

"Well this sucks" Keith grunted, standing on a step ladder and taking down some tinsel that was hung around one of the wall-lights in the cafeteria "Three days after Christmas and we have to take down all the decorations! Who's idea was that?!"

"Mr Kincaid's probably" Ponte replied, turning to face Keith. However, being the strong thickset guy he was, Ponte had been ordered to carry the relatively small Christmas tree on his shoulder. As he swung round to face Keith, the back part of it swung with him. Nick, looking up from where he was putting the baubles away back in their shoeboxes for the year, saw what was about to happen and ducked to avoid being smashed upside the head by a bark stump.

"Hey Ponte, can you grab that duct-tape for me?" Liam asked from where he was tapping the Christmas tree lights into ringlets.

"Oh sure" Ponte did a 180 and bent down to pick up the duct-tape. Unfortunately, as he did so, the lower end of the Christmas tree came swinging round again and this time successfully conked the unsuspecting Nick on the back of the head.

Kellyn, who had been helping Liam at the time, burst into a fit of laughter. Ponte looked around, as if unsure of what he had hit and where it had gone.

"Hey Kellyn!" Keith called down to him, getting his attention "Can you go and ask Kate where she took the scissors? I'm gonna need some to get the tinsel off! Did she glob the Sellotape on with superglue or something?!"

Kellyn chuckled and nodded. He stood up, brushed the pine-needles off his clothes and walked out of the warm cafeteria into the crisp white snow. It had been one of the coldest Decembers in Almia's recorded history, but apparently the weather was going to warm up in January.

He guessed Kate would be in her room. He made his way through the snowy courtyard up the steps into the common room. He stopped in front of the door to the girls' dorm and knocked on it. Rhythmi answered it.

"Oh, hi Kellyn" she smiled "You looking for Kate?" He nodded. Rhythmi stepped outside the room and then called on her shoulder "Kaaaate! Your boyfriend's here to see ya!" She then hurried down the stairs to avoid getting killed by either Kellyn or Kate.

"Argh! I knew trusting her to keep her little 'stunt' a secret was bad idea!" Kate scowled. Then she saw Kellyn and her eyes brightened "Oh! Hi Kellyn! What's up?"

**Keith thinks you took the scissors from the cafeteria**

"The scissors?" Kate blinked, then her pale-blue eyes widened "Oh! Yeah, come in. I'll just get 'em."

She beckoned Kellyn into the girls' dorm which was empty apart from her. The girls' dorm was the same as the boys' dorm, except instead of blue it was a ghastly shade of cherry-blossom pink. Although the room was tidier than the boys', Kate's bed was the messiest of them.

"I know, I'm such a boy, aren't I?" she grinned when he pointed this out "Suppose it comes from growing up with two brothers."

Kellyn blinked. He'd heard Kate mention something about having a big brother named Peter or Perry or something like that. But beyond that, she'd never mentioned anything about her family. Kate seemed to follow his trail of thought.

"Here" she picked up a framed picture that was on her beside table, since she had the bottom bunk whilst Rhythmi had the top. "That's them both, back in Summerland."

Kellyn studied the photo that had apparently been taken on a beach with white cliffs and cerulean-blue skies in the background. It wasn't very clear and the colours were almost grey, like it had been taken with an old camera. Kate was there, about nine years old, with her shoulder-length ginger hair loose and her blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight. She was receiving a piggyback from a man in his early twenties who also had shoulder-length ginger hair but green eyes. Next to him stood an African-American woman about the man's age who had very long black hair reaching a long way down her back. She had her arm around the shoulders of a cheerful six-year-old who gave Kellyn the impression of a hyper, 'I-cannot-sit-still-for-even-a-second-unless-I'm-sleeping' boy. He had blue eyes that were darker than Kate's by several shades and the classic Hitomi ginger hair that spiked out in all directions on his head, like it had been ruffled continuously and never combed afterwards.

"Those are my brothers, nearly three years ago" Kate explained "Percy's the older one - he's 24 now. He's a Summerland ranger, he may even be the deputy at the base; I'll have to ask him when I see him. The woman next to him, that's his co-worker, Leilani Rasuka. They're not dating yet, but it's inevitable." Kellyn chuckled at this "The little one's now nine. His name is Sorrel. Well, actually it's Sora, but we all call him Sorrel these days, because of his hair. He loves to get up to mischief. He's completely hyper when he's awake, but when he's tired he'll just collapse asleep wherever he stands. Seriously, one time he fell asleep on top of the water tower and we had to call the fire brigade to get him down. And he still didn't wake up until noon the next day!" She grimaced at the memory, causing Kellyn to silently laugh.

"They're picking me up to head on the ferry back to Fiore tomorrow morning" Kate went on "I'm spending a few days there and then coming back for New Years." Kellyn nodded. He knew most of the students were heading home for a few days before New Years. At first he'd considered heading back to his foster parents' home too, but then he realised Starlight would be left at school alone with only a handful of teachers and Janice, and he decided to spend the rest of the holidays at school as well.

"It's a tradition here, to spend New Years at school" Kate explained "It's even better, because it means I have to get all my presents early when I'm at home 'cos I spend my birthday here." Kellyn blinked "New Year's Day, that's my birthday. I'm turning thirteen."

Kellyn's blue-green eyes widened with a mixture of surprise and panic. He'd forgotten Kate was even twelve let alone her birthday was coming up! Thankfully Kate didn't seem to notice. She gently took the photo out of Kellyn hand and replaced it with a pair of large black and orange scissors.

"You wanna meet my brothers, come to the front gates of the school tomorrow morning. No need to get up early, ten to one, one of them will be late."

* * *

><p>The snow was slowly falling still. A day had passed since he had found out about Kate's brothers, and Kellyn was pacing back and forth in the common room waiting for her. After a good fifteen minutes of him pacing, Kate finally emerged from the girls' dorm.<p>

"Ugh, every single one of them wanted to give me a hug" she grimaced. Kellyn chuckled "It's not funny!" She stood in front of the steps, facing him with her arms folded. Her spiky pigtails seemed to bristle with annoyance.

"Katie!"

Before either of them could react, something tackled Kate from behind. She lost her balance and both of them were sent flying down the steps.

Giving a squeak of shock and fear, Kellyn rushed down the stairs after them. He blinked in surprise. To his left, Kate was sitting up whilst rubbing her head and groaning, and at his feet was a very small boy. He could only have been about nine, but had to be the size of a six or seven year old! He had reddish-brown hair and the darkest but friendliest blue eyes Kellyn had ever seen. The boy looked up at Kellyn and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oops!" he grinned. Kate got to her feet, looking very annoyed.

"Sorrel!" She grabbed the small boy by the collar of his white shirt and lifted him into the air so he was level with her face "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Um...saying hi?" he offered. Kate dropped him and he landed on his face in the snow "Ow! Alright, alright! Sorry! Percy sent me in here and told me to grab you! So I did!"

"He didn't mean literally!" Kate protested "Ugh, you're more unbelievable than Keith!" She once again picked the boy by his collar and plonked him on his feet, turning him to face Kellyn. "Kellyn, this is Sora Hitomi, or Sorrel as he's commonly known. Sorrel, this is Kellyn Solluna, my classmate."

Sorrel blinked his dark-blue eyes before putting on a grin big enough to stretch from here to Kanto. He ran a hand through the messy sorrel-coloured hair that gave him his nickname.

"Oh, hi!" he grinned "You're Katie's boyfriend aren't you?"

Kate automatically shoved him so hard he landed on his face in the snow...again.

"Sorrel Hitomi if you say that again I swear I'll push my foot down on your throat and press down until you stop breathing!" she growled.

Kellyn winced and sweat-dropped. '_She's so rough with him._'

"Okay, okay, okay! I'm sorry!" Sorrel began to plead for his life, spitting out a mouthful of snow he'd collected "It was just, Percy said—!"

"Percy!" Kate was practically fizzing with anger now "Kellyn, excuse me for a moment." She then rushed out the door of the courtyard, yelling verbal abuse in the direction of the school's gates.

Kellyn could only blink in surprise whilst Sorrel got to his feet, swatting snow off the blue patches of his blue-and-white hoodie.

"Ugh...That time of the month again..." he mumbled.

**Do you even know what that means?**

"Nope!" Sorrel gave him a cute and innocent grin "But that's what Percy says whenever Katie or 'Lani are acting all grumpy."

Kellyn could only shake his head in disbelief and wonder: '_Are all Fiorians like this_?'

"Come on!" Sorrel ran ahead a few steps before turning mid-step and running backward, signalling for Kellyn to follow him "I wanna see what happens to Percy when Katie gets a hold of him!"

With a shake of his head, Kellyn rushed back upstairs to grab Kate's forgotten suitcase before following the juvenile nine-year-old out of the school courtyard.

* * *

><p>Kellyn had never seen Kate as the violent type, but that changed when he got to the path outside the gates of Ranger School. There, he saw Kate, relentlessly beating up a poor ginger man with her rucksack.<p>

"Katherine! Katherine come on! Ow! Stop it, please! That hurts! Ow! Katherine!"

'_Katherine_?' Kellyn thought '_Who in their right mind would call Kate Katherine_?' Then his blue-green eyes widened as he recognised the man's soft green eyes. '_Oh_! That must_ be her brother_! _Percy_!'

Then a second realisation struck Kellyn. This was Percy Hitomi - one of Lunick and Solana's best friends. Suddenly, a million questions began forming in his brain, questions he had never got to ask his brother and sister. Then he tried to remind himself Percy was in a rush to get his little sister home for the holidays and wouldn't want to wait around for a trivia about twelve years ago.

"Percy's getting beaten up again" Sorrel gave a sigh and shook his head "Older siblings. You got any?"

Kellyn stopped to think before nodding.

"Ah, I understand your pain" Sorrel nodded "Ah well, time to break 'em up."

He set off down the steps towards his quarrelling siblings. As he and Kellyn approached, Kate finally finished beating up Percy.

"And I don't want you spreading any more rumours!" Kate practically screamed at him "GOT IT?!"

"Ah! Alright alright!" Percy rubbed his aching ears "Arceus, you sound like my nagging wife!"

"I thought that was Leilani's job" Kate folded her arms "Well, when you two get married, you'll have two of us, and then there's no escape."

"Ah! Don't say stuff like that!" Percy buried his face in his hands so people wouldn't see his face turning as red as a strawberry.

"You done being a punching bag yet?" Sorrel called over to his brother, who nodded his confirmation.

Kate turned around and smiled. "Hey Kellyn" She gave him a small wave. "This is my older brother, Percy." She gestured at the ginger man behind her. She then whirled round to face her brother and immediately her face darkened "Percy, this is my _friend_, Kellyn!" She glared at her brother with icy blue eyes.

Percy, at first, didn't react. Paying no heed to Kate's threatening tone, he just stared at Kellyn with unreadable green eyes. Kellyn was starting to get a sense of déjà vu. Then Percy's face lit up.

"Oh! You're Lunick's kid, aren't you?" he smiled.

Kellyn flinched and nodded.

"You've met?" Kate blinked.

"Of course" Percy nodded, grinning a bit like Sorrel "You've meet him before too Katherine. You were only a few months old at the time, but Lunick and Solana used to bring Kellyn over to our house in Summerland. Arceus, Leilani used to fuss over you like a Teddiursa!"

Despite himself, Kellyn found himself turning red with embarrassment. Then he frowned. For a second there, he thought he saw something on Percy's forehead. Percy tilted his head back slightly to laugh at another fond memory and Kellyn saw something flash in the sunlight. A small, thin white scar running from his ginger hairline across his forehead to the far corner of his left eye. Kellyn grunted to get the oldest Hitomi's attention before pointing at his own forehead.

"Oh, it's nothing" Percy shrugged "Just an old scar. A wild Houndoom attacked me when I was little."

"Yeah right!" Kate snorted "That's what _you_ say! He just fell down the Summerland Ranger Base's stairs and banged his head!"

"That's not true!" Percy complained.

"That's what Cameron said" Kate defended herself, locking eyes with her older brother.

"Cameron will blab about anything for a popsicle, true or false!" Percy protested.

"Hey!" Sorrel pushed his way in between the two bickering siblings "Can we please just get home! Katie turns really egocentric when she comes to visit and I wanna get this over as soon as possi—yow!"

Sorrel yelped and ducked to avoid Kate's flying fist. Realising he may only have seconds to live, Sorrel quickly zoomed off down the path.

"YOU'LL DIE FOR THIS SORREL!" Kate screamed after him, shaking her fist. She then turned to Kellyn and gave him a sugary-sweet grin which made him a little afraid. "Bye Kellyn."

Then she really took him by surprise when she wrapped him in a hug. All the blood rushed to Kellyn's cheeks so fast he had a sudden brief sense of vertigo. Kate pulled away and Kellyn noticed she was blushing also. She gave him one last smile before racing after Sorrel.

"I'm gonna be a brother-in-law! Katie and Kellyn sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I—!"

"SHUT UP SORREL!"

The two quickly disappeared across the bridge into the trees. Percy shook his head.

"The joys of being a Hitomi" he sighed "And it appears you may be joining the family someday Kellyn."

Kellyn almost died on the spot. Then that feeling evaporate as Percy turned to face him. The ginger's smiling face was gone and was replaced with a stern expression, and Kellyn immediately realised that for all his wise cracks, Percy was still a formidable ranger who was not to be taken lightly.

"Listen" he said, sternly but not threateningly "Kellyn, Katherine never really made any friends. She was never good with new people. You're the first person I've met who she's really gotten to know who I haven't introduced her to."

Kellyn blinked in surprise. He knew Kate wasn't exactly a social bunny, but she seemed so friendly it was almost impossible to believe she was so shy.

"I'm only gonna ask you one thing Kellyn" Percy said. Kellyn nodded in understanding "Make her happy. Give her someone who'll listen to her. That's all I ask. Can I trust you?"

Kellyn didn't hesitate for a second before nodding.

"Just beware. If you do anything to hurt my sister, Politoed and I will personally bring traumatising pain upon you, got that?"

Kellyn shivered at the look in Percy's narrowed green eyes and nodded extremely quickly. Immediately, Percy brightened up.

"Good!" he smiled "Speaking of traumatising pain, where'd my crazy brother go?"

Kellyn pointed down the path, wondering what Sorrel had to do with traumatising pain.

"Okay, well, it was nice meeting you Kellyn" Percy said before jogging off down the path. Then, at the beginning of the bridge, he turned around, and called back something surprising "Oh! And by the way! If you're ever in trouble, trust the stars!"

PLeaving that puzzling message embedded in Kellyn's surprised-out brain, Percy set off after yelling debacle that was his little brother and sister.

* * *

><p><strong>'...<strong>**_Ugh, Percy's as confusing as his sister_****' Kellyn thought, shaking a clump of snow out of his now wet brown hair '****_Well, forget that. What matters is that it's Kate's birthday is the day after tomorrow, and she needs a present_****.'**

**As he looked across the market, he confirmed Starlight had not shown up. Kellyn had been relying in him to help him with the present picking, since he needed to get her a present too and may be the only person in the entire school who wouldn't tease him about getting a present for girl's birthday.**

**'****_Great, the last thing I need now is him ditching me_****.'**

**"Well well well, come look at this!"**

**"Oh my goodness! Look what the wind blew in!"**

**Kellyn jumped at the sound of familiar voices behind him and turned to face them. His eyes nearly leapt out of their sockets.**

**'****_Oh you have got to be joking_****!'**


	21. Kellyn is the king of Scrabble

**"****So...dare I ask why it was in the boys' dorm?"**

**"****He was my partner, and I left him."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Twenty-One – Kellyn is the king of Scrabble**

Kellyn's jaw dropped and his white pupils grew to the size of dinner plates as he looked at the two people in front of him. One of them was a boy of twelve with jet-black hair and icy-blue eyes. At his feet was an Eevee. The other was a girl a year younger with long curly ginger hair and moss-green eyes. Standing behind her was a Girafferig. She had four Pokéballs attached to her belt.

**Clio? Luke?**

"Good to see ya, stranger!" Clio grinned. Luke just nodded.

**What are you doing here?**

"Er, I live here?" Clio laughed. Luke jammed his hands in his pockets and kicked a stone away with his trainer.

"Sea route's out" he explained "Ice. Can't leave until next month when it's thawed out a bit."

Kellyn nodded in understanding.

"What about you Tiger?" Clio asked.

**Birthday present**

"Oh Kellyn, how thoughtful!" Clio beamed "A birthday present four months in advance!"

Kellyn shook his head with a grin.

**Not you!**

"Who then?" Luke spoke up.

**A classmate**

"Oh! A girl, is it?" Luke enquired. As soon as he saw Kellyn blush, he knew he was on the right track "Would you look at that! Little Kellyn's got himself a girlfriend!"

Normally Kellyn would have snapped for being called little, but at the moment he was too embarrassed to care. He bravely looked at Clio, ready for an onslaught of teasing. However, Clio had a blank look on her face, one Kellyn couldn't read.

"So, what's this classmate's name?" Luke went on.

Kellyn snapped out of his daze to answer.

**Kate**

"Kate huh?" Luke tilted his head or the side a bit "Is that short for Katherine or Katrina?"

Kellyn was about to answer, but Clio didn't let him.

"Luke, I left Gira's Pokéball at your house. Can you get it please?" she asked.

"Er, sure" Luke agreed "Come on Copper."

He jogged off towards Clio's house in the north of town, his Eevee and Clio's Girafferig following.

As soon as Luke was out of sight, Clio grabbed Kellyn's shoulders and dragged him over to the white fence of the Miltank farm. There she gripped his shoulders firmly, her nails seemingly piercing through his cloak and jacket into his shoulder blades as her hard green gaze made him shiver. He'd never seen Clio look like that before.

"Is it true?" she asked. Kellyn gave her a blank stare so she clarified "You're together with this Katrina girl?"

Kellyn's hand was trembling as he wrote the answer - this was so unlike Clio. Normally she was carefree and always laughing, how much had changed in the four months he'd been at school?

**It's short for Katherine actually**

Clio said nothing, just bore her green eyes into his. Kellyn did his best not to crack under the pressure and look away. Finally, Clio spoke again, but it was scary and monotonous, like she was disappointed about something.

"She your girlfriend?" was the question.

Kellyn shook his head.

**We're just friends**

"So you haven't kissed yet?" Clio asked. When Kellyn went beet-red Clio knew. "Let me guess, the mistletoe trick?"

Kellyn nodded, hanging his head. Then Clio perked up, even her deep-ginger Curls seemed to liven up a bit, and out on her signature huge grin.

"Well, sent my commiserations to dear Kate then!" she grinned.

Kellyn shook his head, smiling, and punched Clio lightly on the arm. This was more like the Clio he knew and was friends with.

"Ah! Alright, I'm joking!" she grinned, holding her hands up in surrender "So, it's her birthday present you're looking for?"

Kellyn nodded. Without a second's hesitation, Clio grabbed Kellyn's wrist and dragged him towards the market again. Kellyn panicked and dug his heels into the ground, but Clio pulled him like he was a mailbag.

"Well, I'm just the person to be asking for help!" she grinned "Nobody knows a girl's needs better than me!"

Kellyn eventually gave up trying to escape Clio's iron grip and resulted to putting all his energy into keeping up with her. Though it may have just been Kellyn's imagination, he thought he heard Clio murmur:

"You better look after him, Katherine."

* * *

><p>Kellyn always looked back on that week of the holidays with a definite smile. He and Starlight were inseparable and they even moved their duvets onto the sofas so they could sleep in the common room, each happy for the other's company. Neither rose before 9:00, embracing the chance to have late mornings without Liam and Keith around. The cafeteria was near silent with it only being the two of them, the only sound being the sound of stainless steel utensils hitting porcelain. The majority of their week was spent in the common room watching movies, playing games and plotting ways to bring some extra spark to Mr Kincaid's lessons which probably wouldn't work but were fun to come up with. Starlight also taught Kellyn how to play chess and checkers, although Kellyn quickly realised he had too little patience for either game.<p>

Actually, with the rest of school away, Starlight began to show another side of him. He was more bubbly and chatty. Whilst Kellyn couldn't talk, Starlight was more than happy to make up for the silence. Kellyn could never really grasp what Starlight was babbling on about - in fact he was pretty sure Starlight himself didn't know either. But Kellyn was happy to just sit there and let Starlight get it out of his system, it probably wouldn't last long.

* * *

><p>"Oh come on! No fair!"<p>

The day after going birthday shopping for Kate, Kellyn was sitting on one of the common room sofas with Starlight, watching a marathon of NCIS. He wasn't sure how they had come to watching said programme, but they had watched most of the movies already and it was more interesting than the game of Uno they'd previously been playing. It turned out that whilst Starlight was a great ranger and brilliant friend, he was no clairvoyant.

"It was the assistant all that time?!" Starlight's jaw was practically on the floor, despite the fact this was the third time he had guessed wrong, looking completely nonplussed "Man, I didn't think she had the guts to do it!"

**Appearances can be deceiving**

"Yeah, you're a living example" Starlight grunted, leaning against the sofa back and folding his arms, now looking annoyed.

The two sat in silence for a while, just sitting there and watching the last five minutes of the programme which was mostly a banter between three of the main characters in the office. As the frustrating break between programmes began, Kellyn looked over at Starlight. The taller boy had drawn his knees up to his chest, kicked off his shoes and buried his nose between his knees. Even from a metre away, Kellyn could see he was shivering.

**Are you cold?**

Starlight gave a small nod, his white shirt not providing much protection against the winter cold. Kellyn stood up and hurried into the boys' dorm. After a few seconds, he came back holding a pale-purple jumper. He held it out to Starlight.

"That yours?" he asked.

**Actually, it's Kate's**

"Er..." Starlight blinked in confusion "So...dare I ask why it was in the boys' dorm?"

**Her brother Percy bought it for her for Christmas along with another one. They were both too big so she gave me this one**

Starlight paused for a second before taking the jumper and slipping out over his thin frame. It was about his size.

"Purple's not really my colour, huh" he sighed.

Kellyn sat down on the sofa too.

**It doesn't really matter when it's just the two of us at school**

"Thanks Kellyn" Starlight smiled.

Kellyn just nodded and turned his attention back to the start of the new episode. They watched one more episode of NCIS before Starlight's pride couldn't take it anymore. To entertain themselves, they tried to play a game of Scrabble but Starlight quickly realised you can't win against a guy who writes 24/7.

"You're going to find it hard to use that Q without a U" the silver-haired boy informed his opponent with a smile.

Kellyn scowled and looked across the board. Then his face broke into a smile as he placed his last letter next to the I in 'fantastic'.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me!" Starlight threw down his last four letter in protest "That can't be a word!"

**Qi - pronounced 'chee'. Chinese origin**

Starlight grumbled and began packing up the game.

**Does that make me: Kellyn - The King of Scrabble?**

"No, it makes you Kellyn - The King of Gloating" Starlight groaned.

**Yeah, well, you still love me, don't ya?**

"You're never gonna live this down, are ya?" Starlight sighed.

Kellyn shook his head, still grinning obnoxiously. He unlined his previous sentence.

**Kellyn - The King of Scrabble!**

Starlight face-palmed.

"What d'ya want, a picture in the hall of fame?" he asked sarcastically.

**Yup, so I'm famous!**

"No, you're obnoxious" Starlight told him dryly. He packed the Scrabble game away in the box and leant back into the sofa with a grunt.

Shadow leapt up onto his lap and circled round before curling up. Luna lay down on the sofa between the two humans whilst Kellyn tickled her white fur behind her large ear, making her purr.

For a while they just sat there, Kellyn basking in his glory as the official King of Scrabble and Starlight staring out the window. Then the silver-haired boy sat up.

"It's snowing again" he stated, looking over at his companion "Wanna go outside? Make a snowman or something?"

Kellyn shrugged and nodded. Luna stood up an stretched.

"_**Sounds good. We'll be outside waiting**_" She and Shadow got up and trotted down the steps into the courtyard.

Kellyn headed back to the boys' dorm to wrap up warm. He located his school jumper, his blue rain mac, a yellow scarf and pair of matching gloves. He was about to reach for his knitted hat but then he realised it buried beneath a pile of Keith's dirty socks and it would have to be decontaminated before he could wear it.

"I can't see."

Kellyn turned to look at Starlight. The taller boy had located a long red coat, scarf and gloves, but was once again having trouble with a hat. He'd borrowed one of Kincaid's blue bobble hats, but this time the hat was too big and kept slipping down either over his eyes or off his head backwards.

Kellyn chuckled and removed Starlight's hat before forcing it down on his head again. When he was sure it wasn't going to slip off whilst he was holding on, he tied the tassels below Starlight's chin. Taking a step back, Kellyn glued his mouth shut to stop himself from laughing. He couldn't help but think Starlight looked a bit like he was wearing a bonnet due to that silly hat, but there was no way he was going to tell the older boy that.

"Thanks" Starlight nodded "Let's go." Kellyn nodded and they made their way downstairs, through the courtyard and into the field.

As they said so, Luna and Shadow were already there, playing in the snow. Whilst Shadow stuck out like a dot of ink on a piece of blank paper, the only parts of Luna that showed up against the crystalline snow was her indigo eyes and jewel on her forehead.

In the next half an hour, the four of them built a snowman that was actually taller than Kellyn. They were so proud of it they gave him a carrot nose and actual buttons for his buttons and eyes. They named him Mr Tumbleton, due to something that had happened whilst they were putting the finishing touches on him.

Shadow had been attempting to help at Luna's insistence, walking around on the snowman's head. In the process he had slipped and tumbled towards the ground, his legs and tail failing in the air.

"_**Don't panic!**_" Luna called up to him "_**Cats always land on their—**_" Before she could finish, Shadow hit the snow next to her. Luna wrinkled her nose "_**...face? What kind of cat are you?**_"

Henceforth the snowman was christened Mr Tumbleton.

Kellyn and Starlight took a step back to admired their creation, smiling with satisfaction. Shadow collapsed in the snow whilst Luna just looked proud of herself.

"Boys!" Both jumped as Janice opened the door and called to them.

Luna jumped behind the snowman to hide, Shadow didn't move a muscle.

"You have a phone call from Fiore!" Janice called.

The two boys looked at each other in confusion. Shrugging, they headed into the principle's office. At the principle's desk, the phone was turned upside down on the desk. Sitting in the comfy leather swivel-chair, Starlight put the phone on speaker.

"Hello?"

_**"Hey guys!"**_

Starlight and Kellyn looked at each other and grinned.

"Hello Kate."

_**"Just calling to check you guys are doing okay, being stuck at school and all that."**_

Kellyn thought he could hear voices and whacking things in the background, but it was probably just his imagination or the crackly phone line.

"Yeah, things are great here" Starlight answered "We built a snowman, I learnt I'm not clairvoyant and Kellyn failed at chess and became the king of Scrabble."

Kellyn could just imagine Kate on the other end of the line blinking her pretty pale-blue eyes in confusion.

_**"Sounds like something Keith would say."**_

"Yeah, well, things are quiet here without him."

Kellyn was now sure that smashing and yelling in the background wasn't his imagination.

_**"Things are really quiet here too. The beach is practically empty 'cos it's winter and the p..."**_

Kate probably said something else, but her voice was drowned out by the smashing and two loud voices.

_**"Die Xemnas! Die!"**_

_**"Ah! Sorrel! Can you please stop hitting me with your sword!"**_

_**"No! I'm the great keybearer Sora! And you're the evil Xemnas! So you must DIE!"**_

_**"Sorrel come on! Ow! That hurts! Why do I have to be the bad guy! Can't I be Riku instead?"**_

_**"Hmmmmm...okay!"**_

_**"Thank Arceus!"**_

_**"Die die die!"**_

_**"Ah! What?! I thought Riku was a good guy!"**_

_**"Not in the first game!"**_

_**"ENOUGH!"**_

Starlight and Kellyn flinched as Kate's voice roared down the phone line.

_**"Katie, we're only..."**_

_**"SORREL! REED! I'M TRYING TO MAKE A PHONE CALL! GO AND PLAY WITH YOUR SWORDS SOMEWHERE ELSE!"**_

The two other voices squealed with fear and there came the sound of hurried footsteps in the sand. Kate gave a half-groan, half-growl.

"Um, dare I ask what's happening?" Starlight asked, a bit nervously.

_**"My little brother and his friend Reed. Ever since he discovered he had the same name as the main character, Sora's been obsessed with a game called Kingdom Hearts."**_

"Oh" Starlight and Kellyn just looked at each other, a little stunned and confused "I...see..."

_**"Yeah, so, are you guys excited for New Year?"**_

"Not really" Starlight groaned "Putting up with Keith on a sugar rush with fireworks going off overhead, and then he wants to have a karaoke night."

Kellyn flinched and felt adrenaline fear coursing around his body at the mention of karaoke, but then relaxed as he remembered he couldn't do karaoke.

_**"Well, I am! It'll be my birthday, remember!"**_

"Oh yeah" Starlight remembered "How was your early birthday over there?"

_**"It was good yesterday - everyone was doing as I said! It was brilliant! But now - well - I think Sorrel just proved my point."**_

**Siblings, what to do with them**

Starlight gave Kate Kellyn's message.

_**"Yeah, who wants 'em?"**_

"I would say something, but I don't know if I even have any siblings" Starlight sighed.

Kellyn didn't know what to say to that, metaphorically. He realised how hard it must be for Starlight to spend the holidays at school, not knowing if he had a family who had missed him. Kate seemed to be on the same wavelength.

_**"Well, er, I'd better go. Calls across regions cost, you know."**_

"Oh, okay" Starlight agreed "See ya Kate."

_**"'K. Bye Starlight, Kellyn."**_

Starlight was just about to hang up when a voice called:

_**"Bye Katie's boyfriend!"**_

_**"SORREL!"**_

* * *

><p>A lone figure stood upon the Peril Cliffs, his shadowy form just visible again the star-speckled sky. His black hair was plastered against his head due to water, despite the fact there was no rain. In the light of the full moon, his eyes stood out icy-blue, piercing the darkness. Though the blackness of the night hid his clothing, the orange and white crest of a ranger was on his left shoulder.<p>

As midnight approached, a second figure made their way to the summit of the cliffs. This figure was older was older by a few years, perhaps two.

"Lost, Lind?" he asked. The first figure, Lind, regarded his new companion with an icy glare before it turned back to the sky.

"And you're not, Kazuki?" he enquired.

'Kazuki' snorted and scuffed his foot along the rocks. He clarified: "Not as much."

Lind said nothing, he didn't even look at the figure next to him. 'Kazuki' stood just there, now and then casting an aqua gaze over at his companion. Lind didn't move at all; in fact, to some it would seem like he wasn't breathing. Finally 'Kazuki' broke the silence.

"You can just call me Lunick, you know."

"I know" Lind shrugged, digging his hands into the pockets of his trousers "Old habits die hard."

Once more, there was a long silence. After a while, Lunick was almost sure Lind wasn't going to talk and was about to leave, when Lind finally spoke:

"Is there someone out there for me to protect?"

Lunick blinked and looked up, surprised by this question.

"Huh?"

"Like you with Kellyn" Lind pressed, still not looking at his companion "Will there ever be someone for me to protect?"

Lunick let a sigh escape his lips. "Is that what's been bothering you?"

"That, and other things" Lind let his head droop.

Lunick thought for a while before answering. "What about the child named after you, Dazuru's son?"

"His brother can look after him" Lind shook his head.

Lunick thought for a little but, coming up empty, decided to take his leave. As he made his way towards the edge of the cliff, Lind made him turn around again.

"Shadow-Of-The-Willow-Trees."

The spoken name took Lunick by surprise.

"What about him?" he asked.

"Is he safe?" Lind asked.

"Yes, of course" Lunick nodded.

"That's good" now it was Lind's turn to sigh "The least I can do is worry about him."

"It's not your fault what happened" Lunick reminded him.

"I abandoned him, left him to fend for himself" Lind blinked.

"It wasn't your fault" Lunick repeated.

Lind once again didn't reply, just stared at the stars. After a painful silence, he whispered: "He was my partner, and I left him." There was pain in his voice.

Lunick shook his head with a sigh, turning to leave again.

"You'll find someone to protect someday, Lind."

But even once Lunick was gone, Lind continued to stare at the stars above until all of them had faded into the dawn.


	22. Twelve Chimes

**"****Being called little by you is a bit too much."**

**"****I'll go wherever you will go."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Twenty-Two - Twelve Chimes**

"Okay, so, thank you Keith for bringing us this lovely burnt toast, burnt sausages, incinerated baked beans and some black substance I cannot identify. We can see you really spent a long time working your hair off putting this delightful meal together."

Kellyn stared down at the tray Keith had plonked on the table they were trying to move, before looking away in order to prevent adding his stomach's capacity to the list. He looked at Nick next to him, who was looking positively thunderous, before trailing his gaze over to Keith who had an awkward grin on his face. Snoring at the looks he was being given by the recipients of his generosity, Keith threw his hands up into the air in frustration.

"Fine! Fine! I won't bother next time!" he complained "I was only trying to whip something up for you guys whilst you worked! I only borrowed Cook's oven for a little while!"

Kellyn frowned.

**But Keith, you can't cook**

"I gather that, genius!" Keith snorted "Next time, you can get Kate to whip you up some snacks! How about that?!"

Unfortunately for Keith, Kate happened to be passing through the courtyard at the time.

"How about no?" she shot back "I'll have you know, Keith Dazuru, my older brother is more of a Cooking Mama than I am." With that she rushed out the front door, getting a:

"No running in the hallways!" from Mr Kincaid.

Strangely, at the mention of the word 'brother', Keith flinched and disappeared up the steps into the common room, calling back:

"Enjoy your meal!"

"Yeah, sure" Nick grunted, disposing of the meal, bowls and all, in a nearby bin.

Kellyn though was curious. He pointed in the direction Keith had gone and tilted his head.

"I dunno" Nick shrugged "He's been acting weird ever since he came back from Saffron City."

Kellyn frowned.

**What was Keith doing in Kanto? I thought he lived in Vientown**

"He does" Nick agreed, picking up his end of the table again "Must have been a family holiday or something. He went with his little brother, er...Lid, was it?"

**Lind**

"Yeah, that's it" Nick nodded "Come on, help me out here."

Kellyn picked up his end of the table with a little difficulty and the two slowly made their way towards the steps.

"Weird name to give a kid" Nick muttered. Kellyn blinked. "Don't you know who they're named after?"

**Keith Maki and Lind Rinki - the Fall City rangers**

"Yeah, but don't you know what happened to them?" Nick pressed. Kellyn shook his head. "Lind was killed in the line of duty during the Great War."

Kellyn was so surprised by this he accidentally dropped the table on Nick's foot. The freckled brunet yelped and grabbed his sore foot, hopping about in pain.

**Sorry!**

"Oww! Argh!" Nick put his foot back down on the ground again and took some deep breaths. He gritted his teeth "I'm fine!" After a few more breaths, he leant his weight on the table and sighed. "Yeah, so, I'm surprised all matter of bad luck hasn't rained down upon poor Lind by now."

**The kid can't help who he's named after**

"Suppose not" Nick shrugged "You named after someone?"

Kellyn thought about that.

**I think it's original**

"Meh, probably" Nick picked up his end of the table "C'mon, the girls want this up there as soon as possible."

The two carried the table upstairs into the common room and put it near the TV. As soon as they and out it down, Tamie and Verity started to fill the table with bowls of crisps, pretzels, rice cakes, celebrations, palma violets, lollipops and (at Ponte's request) marshmallows.

Whilst Nick headed back to the cafeteria, probably to make sure Keith hadn't set it on fire with his cooking, Kellyn walked over to where Liam was picking a DVD selection. His teeth were gritted and Henlooked like he was about to explode.

"Ah! Stupid Kincaid!" Liam vented his rage at Kellyn, his arms flapping at his side "He's limited us to ONE scary movie! ONE! That's automatically nearly all my favourite movies GONE!"

**Aw, you poor little guy**

That might have been the wrong things to say. Liam frowned, his pale eyebrows furrowed quite possibly with anger.

"Being called little by you is a bit too much" he snorted, turning his back to Kellyn.

Shaking his head, the brunet looked around before tapping Sami, who was in charge of music, on the shoulder.

"Wha?" she looked up.

**Starlight?**

"Er, your dorm, I think. He was holding his head, said he was tired or something."

Kellyn nodded his thanks and headed over to the boys' dorm, shutting the door behind him. Sure enough, Starlight was there, lying in his side on his mattress with the duvet pulled up to his chin and Shadow curled up, asleep, at his side.

**You okay?**

Kellyn squatted down at Starlight's side to deliver the message.

"Not really" Starlight groaned "Urgh, I think I've come down with something. I feel like my head's gonna explode."

Kellyn's smile faded.

**Will you be coming to the party?**

"Sorry Kellyn, I can barely sit up" Starlight groaned "Have fun without me, okay?"

Kellyn put on his bravest smile before leaving the room, closing the door behind him again so Starlight could have some peace.

...and was immediately hit with a snowball to the face.

"Sorry! I was saving it for Starlight!" Keith apologised, grinning.

Kellyn snorted, wiping snow off his face.

**He's sick, not coming to the party**

"Ah, blow!" Keith snapped his fingers in frustration "Liam and I had a mega prank ready for him!"

Deflated, he disappeared down the steps.

* * *

><p>Evening came way too early for Kellyn. He was rudely awoken from his siesta by Liam, clad with a frying pan and rolling pin that made a lot of noise. Surprisingly Keith wasn't in on it. In fact, when Liam woke him up, he snatched the kitchen utensils and stormed out of the room.<p>

'_What is up with him_? _Seriously_?' Kellyn couldn't help but wonder. But he didn't particularly want to face Keith when he was in this mood, so just decided to go with it.

Predictably, the first movie Liam had set them up to watch was their one and only Kincaid-approved horror movie. Unfortunately for some of the boys though none of the girls tried to cling to anyone, except for Sami and Tamie who screamed and clung to each other. At one point, Kate yelped and grabbed ahold of Kellyn's arm, but the second she realised what she was doing she let go and looked away. Keith raise his eyebrows so Kellyn elbowed him in the stomach before he could say anything.

After two more movies and a round of truth and dare (which Nick and Kellyn put a stop to after Liam dared Sami to pour hot coals over Mr Kincaid's head whilst he was sleeping, therefore ruining his 'beautiful' hair) they located the Just Dance game which Keith insisted they had to 'take out for a spin'. Kellyn only danced once at Keith's prompting, maintaining his word that he _could not dance_! Kate only danced once too, going up against Verity and easily won. Whilst she was a gymnastic star and excellent mechanic, Verity was no dancer.

At the moment, Ponte and Becs were going head-to-head. It was actually quite comical, but the two appeared to be enjoying themselves. Kate would be too, if Keith wasn't belting out the lyrics to the song. Whilst Keith could sing on occasion, this was certainly not one of them.

Deciding to stretch her legs, Kate got up from the popcorn-covered sofa she was sitting on, brushed some edibles off her trousers and headed outside in to the crisp night air. There was a thin layer of snow on the ground, so she remained on the bottom step. She inhaled a deep breath of cold air, smiling as she watched the lights on the side of the courtyard's walls lighting up the snow crystalline white.

Kate paused as she heard music. Not the dance music boinging off the walls upstairs, but the sound of a piano. Small, quiet and sweet; that was more Kate's style. She listened to try and find out where the sound was coming from, and frowned in surprise when she discovered where.

'_The basement_?' she thought.

Turning, she made her way down the basement stairs, wet and clear from where Kincaid had brushed the snow away before he went to bed. Kate considered the amount of trouble she would get in if Kincaid found her down here when he was sleeping, but if Keith could do it so could she.

Instead of making her way down the corridor, she only made it halfway before she stopped. A door she hadn't realised had been there was open. She pushed it open further, wincing as it creaked. Thankfully, the only occupant of the room was so focused on his task that he didn't notice. The room was dusty and virtually empty, besides one big object: a grand piano. Even that was covered in layers of dust, but the red leather stool had been swept clear. Sitting on said stool was s small figure, deeply entranced on what he was playing.

Once the tune had finished, Kate fully entered the room. Kellyn turned around, his blue-green gaze catching her by surprise as if he had known she was there the whole time; there was anxiety in his eyes.

"Nice song" she smiled friendlily.

Kellyn relaxed and smiled his thanks.

Kate made her way over to the piano. "Who taught you how to play?"

Kellyn wrote a word in the dust on top of the piano.

**Luke**

"I see" Kate nodded "He's a good friend huh?"

Kellyn nodded vigorously. Really though he itched to say: '_But you are too_!'

"How did you find this place?"

Kellyn drew a crescent moon in the dust.

"How did I guess it would be Luna?" Kate smiled.

She looked at the piano music and realised there were words written below the notes, words to a song she knew. Sliding onto the piano stool, which was big enough to seat three people, to sit next to Kellyn, she shuffled the music so it was back at the beginning.

"Go on, play it" she smiled. For a second, Kellyn looked absolutely petrified, but as he looked into Kate's pale blue eyes, he began to calm down. Slowly, he put his hands on the piano keys and directed his gaze up to the music stand. Taking a few anxious gulps of air, he began to play.

**"So lately, been wondering.**

**Who will be there to take my place?"**

Kellyn froze as he heard Kate singing softly to the lyrics. He stared at her in something close to fright, but her smile encouraged him to go on.

**"When I'm gone, you'll need love,**

**To light the shadows on your face.**

**If a great wave shall fall, it would fall upon us all.**

**And between the sand and stone, could you make it on your own?"**

As they approached the chorus, Kellyn looked at Kate, wondering if she wanted to go on, to which she nodded. All this time, she'd been singing quietly, as if she was focusing on getting the words right; but for the chorus she raised her voice slightly.

**"If I could, then I would,**

**I'll go wherever you will go.**

**Way up high, or down low,**

**I'll go wherever you will go."**

Kellyn looked at Kate doubtfully, it she smiled for him to go on still.

**"Then maybe, I'll work out,**

**A way to make it back some day.**

**To watch you, to guide you,**

**Through the darkest of your days.**

**If a great wave shall fall, it would fall upon us all.**

**Well I hope there's someone out there who can bring me back to you!"**

The chorus came up again, and Kate stretched her smile into the a grin big enough to touch the golden shores of Kanto.

**"If I could, then I would,**

**I'll go wherever you will go.**

**Way up high, or down low,**

**I'll go wherever you will go.**

**Run away with my heart.**

**Run away with my hope!**

**Run away with my love."**

Kate paused to catch her breath but continued to keep the smile upon her pretty face.

**"I know now, just quite how,**

**My life and love might still go on.**

**In your heart, in your mind,**

**I'll stay with you for all of time.**

**If I could, then I would,**

**I'll go wherever you will go.**

**Way up high! Or down low,**

**I'll go wherever you will go."**

Kate was shivering, but it appeared to be more to do with excitement than the chilling cold. Kellyn swore he'd never seen her smile so much.

'_She must really like singing_' he thought '_She's brilliant at it too._'

He almost hit a wrong note and tried to focus back on the piece again.

**"If I could make you mine,**

**I'll go wherever you will go!**

**If I could turn back time!**

**I'll go wherever you will go"**

Leaning her head back, Kate took a few breaths to recover from the high she had just come down from. She smiled all the time.

**"I'll go wherever you will go."**

Kellyn played the last few bars or the piece for finally lifting his fingers from the piano keys onto his lap. The two sat there, panting ever of lightly in the darkness, looking at each other. Neither were quite sure what to say.

"You're good at that" Kate finally said. Kellyn pointed at her and nodded. "Me too?"

Kellyn nodded eagerly - she was a great singer.

"Thanks Kellyn! That's so sweet!"

Kellyn turned away to the left so she wouldn't see his strawberry-red face at that. Golly, he'd blushed more times in the last two months than he had in his whole life previous!

Kate shivered, rubbing her arms, since the shirt she was wearing was her thin cherry-blossom-pink pyjama shirt. Kellyn told off his green jumper and held out to her.

"Are you sure?" she asked "But then you'll get cold."

Kellyn shook his head, his notebook appearing seemingly out of nowhere.

**You've just come from the south of Fiore. You're more likely to get cold than I am**.

Persuaded, Kate took the jumper and put it on. It was a small size, but just big enough for Kate.

From upstairs, there came the sound of something crashing, very loud karaoke music, girls screaming and Keith and Liam yelling at each other.

"Come on, let's get out of here before Kincaid accuses us of trespassing" Kate stood up.

Kellyn nodded and did so to, lowering the lid of the piano over the keys first. Then the two of them headed out of he basement. They didn't go up to the common room yet, just stood there on the stage in front of the steps, watching the snow fall. It was only as Kate leant against him slightly Kellyn realised they'd been holding hands.

To distract himself from the awkward situation, Kellyn looked at his watch. I was two minutes until midnight.

'_Two minutes until Kate turns thirteen_' he realised '_Wait a minute...her present_!'

Letting go of Kate's hand he rushed upstairs into the common room. He was surprised to see only the girls were watching the TV which was tapped into Unova News, sitting eagerly on the edge of the sofa in anticipation of the fireworks over the Skyarrow Bridge. Kellyn was also surprised to see Starlight asleep on the other sofa, Shadow curled up against him.

"You don't wanna go in there" the silver-haired boy groaned "Step in there, all living legendaries breaks loose."

Kellyn shook his head and walked over to the door of the boys' dorm. He pushed it open and stepped into the dorm, but froze and almost wished he hadn't.

'_Dear Arceus, what did I just walk in on_?'

Liam was mid shout, Keith was about to throw something, Nick was trying to stop them, Ponte had resigned himself to the inevitable and Isaac was just sitting there on his bed unimpressed. All froze in place as Kellyn entered the room.

Kellyn stayed there frozen for a few seconds before looking down and realising what he had come to collect was for some reason at his feet, no doubt used as a missile at some point. Carefully, nudging it with his foot into the common room, Kellyn continued to maintain eye contact with the other occupants of the room.

'_I'll just...come back later_' he told himself.

Backing out slowly, he closed the door in front of him. The millisecond the latch clicked closed, noises of disarray sounded from inside the dorm again.

He made it to Kate's side just as the bell of the school's clock tower rang out. The sound of fireworks whizzed from the TV upstairs along with the girls' cheering.

'_A new year has begun_' Kellyn thought, a smile on his face '_When this year ends, I'll be proper ranger_! _I know it_!'

He found his hand in the lock of Kate's fingers again.

One

Two

Three

Four...

Pokémon went wild outside the courtyard walls, cries being yelled in joy and Flamethrowers and Thunderbolts being thrown into the air. Kellyn stole a glance at the girl beside him and saw her eyes were fixed on the starlit sky, glimmering with happiness.

...Ten

Eleven

Twelve!

As the final chime rang out, the boys' cheers joined the girls', apparently having gotten over their strange argument. Kellyn smiled and nudged Kate with his elbow. When she turned her head to look at him, he gave her her present.

**Happy Birthday Kate**

* * *

><p>Luna watched in amusement on the bottom step as the two humans smiled at each other after the female received her gift. The gift was unwrapped and gabbles of thank yous came following. Luna nearly howled with laughter though as the female human pressed her lips against the male's cheek, causing said male to turn Chimchar-red.<p>

"**_Ah, young love_**" Luna thought to herself.

"Familiar huh?" a second voice again "I remember a time when you couldn't stand PDA."

Luna turned around to looked at the one coming down the stairs almost as silently as a ghost. She visibly relaxed.

"**_Good to see you again, I almost didn't recognise you for a second there_**" she commented, turning her dark-blue gaze back on the young humans "**_The talk with him helped I see._**"


	23. Chemistry Chaos

**"****We're gonna make a heckuva mess, aren't we?"**

**"H****ere, in Almia, reading minds is _very rude_!"**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Twenty-Three - Chemistry Chaos**

Kate frowned, staring at the piece of paper with her eyes narrowed.

"Okay so...put the hydrochloric acid in a beaker with...something that starts with an S. Then attached the Pepsi can to...that." With this Kate indicated at the clamp hanging over a huge dish of salt-water on the large desk "...And then put the sprite can in the...is that a T or a J?" She looked at Kellyn "Can you read this?"

Kellyn shook his head.

**Who's bright idea was it to let Mr Kincaid write the instructions?**

"Who knows" Kate grunted, squinting at the paper again "Boy, the kids in his class should be glad he doesn't write their homework out for them instead of using the computer."

Kellyn nodded in agreement.

It was three days into the new term, and a week and half since New Years. And today was a Wednesday: which meant science day. And this afternoon, it was chemistry. Miss April had handed out some Kincaid-written instructions and told them to follow them. They were supposed to be investigating tin cans, but when you have water, acid, metals, Bunsen burners and salt on the same desk and two kids behind it, the experiment quickly became: 'Who can make something explode fastest?'

...This was where Kellyn was starting to question Miss April's teaching methods.

On the other side of the confused duo, another confussled duo were trying to make sense of the chemistry equipment. Rhythmi was trying to explain things to them whilst letting Sami deal with their equipment.

"Okay, just make sure to keep the saliside away from the Bunsen burner" the blond told the boys.

Keith and Ponte blinked.

"Why?" they asked. Rhythmi rolled her eyes. Spreading her arms wide, she made an exploding noise.

Ponte nodded in understanding, but Keith still looked confused.

"And, er, what about the acid?" he asked.

"Best keep the saliside away from that too" Rhythmi added.

"And the water?" Ponte asked.

"Only if it's hot, but yes" Rhythmi nodded.

"Oh come on! What are we supposed to do with it then?!" Keith complained, waving the saliside pot around in the air a bit too dangerously for comfort.

"Just leave it until I figure it out!" Rhythmi shouted back before turning away from them.

Ponte sighed and pinched the bridge of his large nose. He just wished he hadn't agreed to be Keith's partner for this. However, there wasn't a lot of available choices. Kellyn didn't talk and Kate refused to be partnered up with anyone but the mute. Rhythmi was too bossy and Sami seemed more focused on the window than she was on the experiment. Starlight was always an option, but the partner-less boy was looking rather confused on the end of the row as well.

"We're gonna make a heckuva mess, aren't we Keith?" Ponte asked.

The ginger sighed, staring at the saliside pot in somewhat misery. "Yes Marshmallow-boy, I do believe we are."

* * *

><p>Half an hour had passed, and eventually (after receiving legible copies of the instructions) everyone was starting to get the hang of it. Whilst Keith was still having trouble with the equipment and had resorted to writing down the results from the experiments, Ponte was starting to get more confident. He hadn't caused any explosions but had somehow managed to set a tin can, a metal spatula, his tie, his hair and both of his jumper sleeves on fire.<p>

Keith looked up from his results table in his yellow chemistry book and looked over at Kate and Kellyn. Kate seemed to know what she was doing, but Kellyn was looking bored. Then, for no apparent reason, Kellyn looked over at Ponte. Keith watched with interest as the smaller boy closed his eyes, his arms falling limp at his sides and a blank look crossing his features.

After about five rather awkward seconds, the brunet turned to Kate and elbowed her. He then started to use one of the newly learnt skills he had picked up: sign language. He, Kate and Starlight had been at it for nearly a fortnight now in the common room and could communicate in short sentences. Kate frowned and shrugged, turning her palms upwards as she did so to say: What? Kellyn then wrote a message on his notebook paper and handed it to her. She smiled.

"Hey Ponte" she smiled "Kellyn recommends you focus on the experiment instead of thinking of your secret marshmallow stash you keep in the top drawer next to your bed hidden under your socks."

Ponte dropped his spatula in shock, jaw falling. Kate burst into hystrics, Kellyn silently chuckled and even Starlight looked amused. That was nothing though compared to Rhythmi and Sami positively roaring with laughter at the other end of the room. Keith laughed a bit, but was more confused than anything.

"Since when were you telepathic?" he asked.

Now it was Kellyn's turn to shrug.

**After New Years, accidently laughed before Star had reached the end of his joke, since I knew what was coming.**

Then he smirked.

**Oh, and you think of really weird things when you sleep, you know that?**

"You read my thoughts when I'm asleep?!" Keith hissed, a cross between scared and furious.

Kellyn grinned innocently.

**What was the weird dream about you turning into a Lillipup and relieving yourself on Rhythmi's bed?**

Now that was going too far. Keith ripped out the notebook page, tore it into shreads and slammed the itty-bitty pieces in the recycling bin.

"If I ever catch you talking about that again...!" he threatened.

Kellyn's grin never faded.

**You think that's the worst? Oh Keith, I have more dirt on you than you can imagine.**

Keith snorted with disapproval.

"Look, I don't know if you half-bloods get the concept" he said in a low voice so no one else would hear "But here, in Almia, reading minds is _very rude_!"

Now the cocky smile faltered on the younger boy's face. Kellyn's head was now hung, his eyes hidden by his hair as his gaze trailed to the floor. Emotionlessly, he turned back to his bunsen burner. Keith snorted, shook his head, and returned to his own experiment too.

* * *

><p>As Keith got on with his result-recording, Kellyn couldn't help but notice how serious Keith was acting. By now, the ginger should be running around the classroom juggling test-tubes whilst bouncing a tin can off his head. But he was calmly jotting results down, his brow furrowed. And his previous comment had really stung!<p>

'_Maybe I could...no, he'll probably kill me for it... Well, he might not notice. Ponte didn't. So, it's gotta be worth a shot._'

Setting down his water beaker, Kellyn closed his blue-green eyes and focused on trying to gain a connection with Keith's mind. It took longer than normal (it was easier to probe into people's minds when they were asleep), but eventually he found a way in. Almost immediately he was hit with a buzzing noise that reminded him of a cross between bees and television static. Little dots of light zipped around him in confusion, as if the noise drove them nuts, whizzing past him like yellow fireflies. For a second, Kellyn thought he saw a small dark-haired boy of about eight floating, asleep in the darkness, but didn't have time to check. At that moment, the lights suddenly turned and smashed into him, forcing him back. He tried to push against them, but he was easily overpowered. A second, stronger wave of light smacked into him at the same time as a voice screamed:

"GET OUT!"

That was when Kellyn's connection broke. The brunet boy recoiled as if he had been stuck, his unusual eyes snapping open in shock. He felt a shiver run through his body as a dull throb pounded in his head.

'_What the_?' Kellyn blinked in confusion and shock '_Did something just force me out_?'

He looked at Keith. The ginger was helping Ponte with the latest experiment, gabbling away like a madman on sugar rush again, not to mention with massive arm movements. It wasn't him who had screamed at Kellyn. In fact, the boy didn't appear to have noticed the intrusion at all.

Another thing got Kellyn's attention. The darkness, the buzzing sound, the confusion; it all made sense to him now. Something was deeply troubling Keith, troubling him to the point he was barely in touch with his surroundings. And Kellyn couldn't think of anything that would upset Keith of all people that badly. Whatever it was had forced him out before he could get anywhere near the source.

"Hey Kellyn, pass me that beaker will ya?"

Kellyn snapped out of his trance at the sound of Kate's voice. He shot her a smile to show he was fine and handed her the water beaker in front or him. Just after he had though, he heard the voice that had screamed at him say, quite softly:

"Sorry about that, but I didn't think it was right for you to see that."

'_W-Who are you_?' Kellyn thought. He didn't recognise the voice, but he could sense it belonged to someone higher up the chain than him.

"Nobody. I am not a guardian, nor one of you. I am nobody."

Kellyn was about to enquire what the voice was going on about, but he received one final startling reply:

"I knew your brother."

Thankfully, Kellyn was distracted from hollering in shock by an inevitable explosion on the table next to him. Everyone craned their necks to peer at the 'crime scene'.

Ponte blinked his blue eyes multiple times, the white of his orbs contrasting with his blackened face, Keith's 'good looks' hadn't be spared either.

Starlight looked at a stunned Miss April, sitting at her desk at the front.

"I think we need another beaker on table 3."


	24. The council of fallen rangers

**"****You gonna issue me a detention?"**

**"****It's time for democracy! Vote! Vote! Vote!"**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Twenty-Four - The council of misfi...I mean _fallen _rangers**

Nothing. Nothing but darkness. That was all that surrounded the table. Made of dark-grey stone with many cracks, big and small, weaving across its surface, it looked as if it had existed for thousands of years amongst the darkness. There were seven similar-looking chairs surrounding it: three on the left side, one on both of the far ends and two on the right side. Only one of the chairs was occupied. The left chair closest to the head of the table had a person sitting in it. A small boy of about 13, wearing a purple Fall City ranger uniform with dark hair and ice-blue eyes which were at the moment closed tight with thought. His elbows were propped up on the table whilst his chin was resting on his interlinked fingers.

The boy didn't look up as two new people approached the table. Both were female. One was in her mid-thirties with long blonde hair, but one could tell little else about her apart from that. She wore a Wintown ranger uniform with the badge of a ranger leader pinned onto it, but the white hood hid all put her piercing green glare.

The second woman was probably in her late-twenties. She wore a green and brown ranger uniform, the uniform of Summerland, and also had a leader's badge, but it was pinned strangely to a camo bandana she was wearing on her head. Her shoulder-length hair was tawny and her eyes a child-like blue.

"Hi Lind!" the second woman grinned as she approached, sounding a lot like a child "How's it going?"

Lind just stared blankly back at her. "Do you act hyper everyday, Erin?" he asked dryly.

"Nope, only on a Tuesday!" Erin grinned, then winked at him "Or when cute boys are involved!"

Lind deadpanned. "You think I'm cute?"

"Nuh-uh! It's a Tuesday!" Erin sat down in the second seat on the right.

"The Three Musketeers" the other woman groaned as she sat down in the third seat on the left, leaving a chair's gap between her and Lind.

"Oh lighten up Nevada!" Erin was _still grinning_! "Maybe you would find quoting cool too if you didn't spend all day in that emo corner of yours!"

Nevada didn't comment, just folded her arms and leant back in her stone chair. Realising Lind wasn't paying attention to her anymore, Erin got bored and started tapping her fingers on the table impatiently.

It was a few minutes before someone else turned up. A third female, this one younger though. She was about 15 or 16, a little older than Lind, with long brown curls cascading down her back and dancing brown eyes. She didn't wear a ranger uniform, and the only indication she was one was the styler strapped at her hip. She wore a long flower-pink skirt and a frilly pink shirt with little plastic buttons shaped as white daisies.

"Larky!" Erin jumped up from her seat and grabbed the girl in a huge bear-hug. The girl was caught off balance and almost fell over, but Erin's hug gave her time to regain her balance.

"G'day Lark" Lind smiled and waved, happy to see someone close to his age now.

"Hello Lind" Lark smiled awkwardly over Erin's shoulder "Er...Erin. Can you please let go of me?"

Erin quickly realised she was suffocating the girl and let go, grinning now sheepishly as she slivered back into her seat. Lark took the seat between Lind and Nevada.

Several more minutes passed. Finally, two more figures made their way out of the darkness. These were both males. One was in his late-twenties and wore a purple Fall City uniform and ranger leader badge. His longish brown hair passed his ears and his brown eyes were fixed on the floor as his boots kicked up the dust. This man was very small, but in comparison the man at his side was as tall as a parade float! He was tall and skinny with a mass of red hair on top of his head. Not red like you see on ginger kids, I mean really flaming-red! He wore the standard Ringtown ranger uniform and leader badge, but there were a bunch of keychains hanging from his shorts connecting either end to the loops of his belt that made a chinkling noise as he walked.

"Hey Rafe! Jeffy!" Erin smiled and waved.

Rafe, the brown-haired man, waved back and took the seat next to Erin. 'Jeffy' just snorted and took his place at he head of the table. He didn't sit down, but scanned the darkness around them with scowling brown eyes.

"He's late" he finally growled.

"Don't tell me you didn't expect it, Jethro" Nevada snorted.

"Chillax guys, he'll be here in a minute" Rafe rested his head on top of his folded arms on the table.

"How do you know for sure?" Lark asked.

Rafe shrugged. "I don't."

"Finding Nemo!" Erin put in out of nowhere.

Lind facepalmed. A lot of the others echoed his sentiments.

Jethro growled, but not at Erin. "The little traitor..."

"Calm down. I'm coming."

Everyone turned their heads to the far end of the table. After a few seconds, a very familiar face made its way out of the shadows and sat down in his chair opposite Jethro.

"You're late Lunick" Jethro said in a low voice.

Lunick, rather arrogantly, shrugged. "You gonna issue me a detention?"

Jethro either couldn't find a comeback or simply couldn't bothered to come up with one, because he let the matter drop and sat down.

"Where were you?!" Nevada demanded.

Lunick shrugged again and answered: "Busy."

"Sleeping" Lind added.

"That, and other things" Lunick looked at him with an unreadable look on his face. "You look tired."

Lind groaned and rested his head in his hands.

"Don't remind me" he groaned "I had to keep Kellyn from poking into Keith's mind three times! He's as stubborn as you are and a real headache! No pun intended."

Lunick froze. Kellyn was entering other people's minds? Oh~. Now this whole emergency meeting made so much more sense. Of course a telepathic psychic being was going to catch the council's attention.

Jethro cleared his throat and got their attention. As the red haired man got to his feet, Lunick took his seat.

"We all know what The Council of Fallen Rangers was built with one purpose: To protect the rangers and their partners below, as well as the ordinary citizens" Jethro begun his little speech. Erin, who like the others had heard this opening many times, was mouthing the words along with him a little sarcastically. Jethro's eyes narrowed, and she stopped "However, it has recently come to my attention there is a psychic being within Almia, attempting to become ranger." As whispers rippled across the table, Lunick kept his mouth sealed, his aqua eyes flashing dangerously and his fists clenching inside his gloves. Jethro silenced them all with a single look. "How has this psychic being been unnoticed for so long? Well, it seems this child was under the effect of a cloaking charm, that has recently weakened due to a new telepathic ability."

Jethro now looked directly at Lunick. The teenager glared dangers in Jethro's direction, as if daring him to go on. Jethro didn't, but Rafe did.

"Seriously? Another one? I thought we took care of the psychics when Mr Clairvoyant came to join us" Rafe tilted his head towards the end of the table.

Lunick still said nothing.

"So why is it still alive?" Nevada grunted "We passed judgement on the psychic beings long ago."

"Those were the old rules!" Erin put in "Now, we get to vote for new rules! It's time for democracy! Vote! Vote! Vote! Ow!" She stopped banging her fist on the table and glared at Jethro. "What did you just throw at me?!"

"If I told you, you'd never stop complaining about it" was the only truthful answer she got.

Erin folded her arms and pouted. Rafe flicked the table repeatedly, getting bored already.

"Surely we're sticking to the same rules as before?" Lark asked, blinking at Jethro.

"A decade after they were put to use" Lunick grunted.

Jethro glared at him to shut him up. The last thing he needed was a war of words between Lunick and the rest of the council - Lunick would most likely win.

"So we've been called here to decide if the psychic being lives of dies?" Lind asked. He said this like he was talking about the weather.

"In a nutshell" Jethro nodded.

"Well, this is going to be one interesting debate" Nevada grumbled, casting a glare over at Lunick.

Rafe flicked the table again. This time though, his nails nicked a little pebble in the table and it went flying.

"Ow!" Lark rubbed her forehead where the pebble had hit her. Rafe mumbled an apology.

"Well I..." Lunick began.

"Oh here it comes!" Rafe groaned. Lunick glared at him, not deterred at all by the age difference.

"_As I was saying_!" Lunick hissed "I have the strong belief anything innocent deserves a chance to live. So I'm naturally against this debate."

"Of course to _you_ psychic beings are innocent" Lind folded his arms.

Lunick groaned. "Not you too."

But Lind somehow heard it and countered. "I can't have my opinion? I stopped being your lackey the second I got this place on this council."

"I never accused you of being my—"

"_Moving on_!" Jethro pressed "As we all know, the psychic beings have the potential to be very dangerous, and if they were to ever fall into the wrong hands they could cause catastrophic damage."

"You talk about them as if they were objects" Rafe commented. He was resting his head on top of his folded arms again, plainly not interested in debate club.

"For the sake of this debate we must treat them as such."

Without warning, an icicle shot across the table and shattered upon making impact with the back of Jethro's chair, centimetres away from his head.

"Temper Lunick" Jethro warned, brushing some ice shards off his shoulder before they could melt.

Lunick shrunk back in his chair uncomfortably. "Sorry, just needed to get it out of my system" he told his almost-victim.

"Anything else you need to 'get out of your system'?" Jethro asked.

"Yeah, about 50 rants that wouldn't be suitable for minors to hear, but for now I'm okay" Lunick answered.

"You're not gonna throw anything dangerous at me, are you Moony?" Rafe asked, now a bit nervous.

Lunick shook his head. "If you don't purposely try and wind me up."

"He only throws stuff at people he annoys or gives a reason to hate him" Jethro clarified.

Rafe exhaled. "That's one heck of a long list."

"Back to what Jethro was saying" Lunick waved the conversation away "I personally made sure Kellyn fought for the side of light. He is not a harm to himself nor society. He will never 'fall into the wrong hands'."

"The fact _you_ made sure of this doesn't put my worries at ease" Jethro shot back coolly.

"Owned!" Rafe burst into a fit of laughter, making both Jethro and Lunick blink in confusion.

"Does anyone notice all the females seem to be not including themselves in this conversation?" Lind piped up.

Big mistake.

Immediately Erin leapt to her feet.

"Oh, so you think boys get to make all the decisions huh?!" she yelled at him.

Lind squirmed uncomfortably under her glare. "No! No, that's not what I was..." He began stammering, but Erin never let him finish.

"Sexist! Sexist! Sexist!"

Nevada groaned. Lark wasn't sure how to react. Lind just stared at Erin, unsure of what to do, wanting to do something but knowing there was no point in shutting the stable door _after_ the Ponyta had bolted. Jethro began repeatedly banging his head off the table. Rafe sat back to watch the show, grinning.

"EVERYBODY _SHUT UP_!"

Two fists smashed into the table so hard the opposite end actaully lifted up and smashed Jethro in the chin. The red-headed man frowned as he rightened his jaw.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked.

Lunick removed his now very sore fists from the table, the flames on them seemingly evaporating and leaving no trace on his hands or gloves, and straightened. Well, at least Erin had stopped shrieking.

"Sorry, but we weren't getting anywhere."

"Well, it would be nice if you actually trusted us for once" Rafe offered.

"Trust you!" Lunick was practically livid now "Give me one reason why I should trust you! Out of the six of you, four have tried to kill me in the past and one of you darn well nearly succeeded!"

Lind began running his finger across a crack in the table with a mutter of: "It was only an accident..."

Jethro and Nevada said nothing but pointedly looked elsewhere. Lark looked at the others, shocked at this statement. Rafe shrunk back in his seat, attempting to look even smaller than normal. Only Erin found a reason to find this amusing. She jumped to her feet, banged her fist on the table and, with a grin and dramatic flourish of her arm, pointed at Lunick with a cry of:

"Aha! Pirates of the Caribbean! Nice quote!"

Then, rather stupidly, she began to applaud.

Lunick just looked stunned speechless. Jethro shook his head in exasperation. Rafe and Lark really didn't know what to say. Nevada shook her head too, muttering:

"Summerland must have been very short of rangers when she was chosen to become leader."

Lind leant over to Lark and murmured:

"Is she supposed to be 28 or just 8?"

"It wasn't supposed to be a movie reference, Erin" Lunick informed her finally.

Not at all bothered all eyes were on her, Erin sat down again, still grinning.

"Wonder if there's anyone at this table who called me here because they actually liked me?" Lunick muttered, sitting down again, slumped in his seat.

Lark raised her hand with a gentle smile. "You've got a friend in me, Lunick."

It worked and encouraged Lunick to smile again.

...and then Erin just had to ruin the moment.

"Toy Story! Nice work Lark!"

Everyone but Lark and Erin groaned. Jethro was fuming.

"Do you have the capacity to keep your mouth shut for _30 seconds_?!" he hissed.

Erin considered this. "Nope!" she grinned, shaking her head.

Jethro also shook his head, but in disbelief.

"I'm starting to wonder if we actually choose worthy rangers to join the council, or if we just haul anyone off the street" Rafe mumbled.

"Pot kettle black" Lind grunted, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair.

"I don't think you should be throwing around that statement so easily" Nevada added "I mean, who are you to this council? You're not a leader, or a guardian. You're just a waste of space."

That started an uproar. Immediately everyone began talking at once at different pitches. Jethro rolled his eyes, stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled. Everyone stopped and looked at him.

"Valuable or not, the members of this council were brought together for one thing, and one thing only" Jethro reminded them in a loud voice "To protect the rangers and their partners below, as well as the ordinary citizens. The psychic beings pose a threat to them, and that is why we must decide whether to take this matter into our own hands. That is why we will vote whether this child needs to be destroyed."

On the word 'vote', everyone sat up straighter in their seats. There was an unreadable expression in Lunick's eyes, but hate was obviously part of it.

"I vote: Aye" Jethro announced "Rafe?"

The brown-haired man exhaled a puff of air, rolling his shoulders and folding his arms behind his head.

"Well, I know whatever I say can and will be thrown back in my face" Rafe decided "So I'm probably better off just going with majority vote." He turned his head towards Lunick "Sorry Moony, but it's Aye for me."

Lunick's clenched fists tightened, but he seemed to understand Rafe's decision.

"Erin?" Jethro sighed as he called her.

The tawny-haired woman tapped her finger against her chin. "Let's see..." she considered this "Kellyn, Kellyn, Kellyn...well, I he kinda reminds me of Harry Potter, orphaned (sort of) and alone without any real answers whilst trying to follow the legacy of his family...and since Harry gets a happy ending, I think Kelly should too!" She turned and beamed innocently at Jethro and Nevada "Plus, I wanna see the _priceless_ looks on your faces! In the words of Boston Legal: 'The Nays have it!'"

Jethro face-palmed, but he had been expecting such a ridiculous answer from of Erin. Nevada blew a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes. Rafe gave Erin a thumbs up, probably for sticking up for what she believed in, unlike the coward called himself. Lunick gave a silent victory cheer. Then he stopped as Jethro looked at him with hard brown eyes.

"I don't think I need to ask you to state your answer" Jethro grumbled "Nevada?"

The green-eyed woman folded her arms. She stated sharply: "I think you all can guess what I'm going to say. Need I remind you all why I'm here rather than down below? Because of a psychic being."

"He died in that explosion too!" Lunick protested "You had to go in and rescue him!"

Nevada's eyes narrowed. "I went back inside because Elita and her silent companion _insisted_ I did" she clarified "It was hardly voluntary."

"It's part of the rangers' code to swear to protect both humans and Pokémon from any threat, anywhere" Lark pointed out, rather nervously.

Nevada looked at the smaller girl out of the corner of her eye. "You consider _them_ human?"

Everyone's head snapped to look at the end of the table as a loud crash sounded. Lunick's eyes were practically pure white, psychic powers activated, his fists encased in ice. The ice was what had allowed Lunick to smash his fists into the table hard enough to dent it without shattering every bone in his hands.

"Abilities in check, Lunick" Jethro warned him, trying to act quickly before Nevada's second death could come about.

Seething with anger but not wanting to make Jethro any angrier, Lunick banished the ice around his fists, but didn't unclench them.

"Oh come on, Aye or Nay, Nevada?" Rafe rolled his eyes, apparently bored now.

Nevada seemed to mirror his emotions. She simply said: "Aye."

Lunick didn't react, everyone had been expecting this answer from Nevada. Now though, the decision rested in the hands of two of the youngest members of the council. Realising it was her turn, Lark shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"D-Do I have to vote?" she asked nervously "I-I don't think I should vote whether or not someone should live or die."

"You have to vote, Lark" Jethro pressed "You've earned your place in this council just as much the rest of us."

"Most of us" Nevada snipped. Her gaze flickered over to Lind, who tried to ignore her but visibly shivered.

Lunick tried to probe into the younger boy's mind to confirm his suspicions about what he was thinking about, but almost immediately he hit a mental block.

'_Argh_!_ I should've never taught him how to do that_!' Lunick growled inwardly. He was distracted though as Lark sat up a little straighter.

"Well, I don't think it's really fair on the poor child" she began, despite the fact she could only be about 15 or 16 herself "He's not to blame for being a psychic being. So, I don't really think he should be punished as such." Her brown gaze trailed down to the table "Besides, I made a promise to his father I would protect Kellyn. He was a brave and noble ranger, and it would be unkindly of me to abandon that promise now." She now turned to Jethro "I think his father would be disappointed in you already Jethro. If you will forgive me for speaking out like this, I believe he would be disheartened to find his mentor has condemned his son to death." She shook her head, her chin raised "I vote Nay."

Erin let out a whoop and raised her hand to high-five Lark, but let it drop after receiving a look from Jethro. Lunick was grateful for Lark's cooperation, but knew Kellyn wasn't out of the woods yet. The vote was tied, and there was only one member left to vote.

All eyes turned to the youngest member of the council.

Thirteen-year-old Lind had his gaze fixed on the darkness above, miles away. He was silent for a long time, and just when they were all sure Lind was never going to speak, his voice came out so quiet Lunick and Erin at the other end of the table had to strain to hear despite the deathly silence of their surroundings.

"I used to hate the psychic beings. They all fled the warring regions during the Great War. I thought they should have stayed to help us, saved many lives, including mine. But now, I realise, it's not their fault. They fled the regions so their powers couldn't be misused, and stayed away to avoid us passing judgement of them and preserve their abilities for generations to come. They were brave."

Lind turned his head towards Jethro, his ice-blue gaze dull but not out of boredom "I have never doubted your judgement before Jethro, and I didn't think I ever would. But this time, I have to stand up for what I believe in." He looked down the table at Lunick and raised his chin "I vote Nay."

Erin jumped up out of her seat and started doing a victory dance. Rafe looked like he wanted to do the same, but Jethro's piercing gaze wouldn't let him - having apparently forgotten he voted Aye. Lark smiled happily. Nevada rolled her eyes. Jethro scowled. Lunick gave a gasp of relief and rested his forehead on the edge of the table; he'd been holding his breath so long he felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Lind didn't really react.

"Alright Lunick" Jethro rose from his seat again, his voice a growl "The child will live. I trust you will appoint yourself as his guardian. However..." he rose to an even greater height "Should he cause any harm to Almia or indeed any region, I will personally bring judgement upon both him and his guardian."

Rather than being intimidated, Lunick stood up and nodded.

"I will keep him in line, sir" he agreed.

Jethro gave a small thoughtful nod.

"I believe this meeting sees no point in continuing any further" he announced "Meeting adjourned."

He quickly left the table and disappeared into the darkness. Rafe clambered to his feet and gave Lunick's hand a shake so hard it almost pulled his arm right out of its socket.

"Good job Moony!" he grinned before hurrying after Jethro.

Erin squealed, leapt to her feet and grabbed Lunick in a bone-crushing hug. She swung him around once before skipping off into the shadows, chanting her congratulations in the form of many 'jolly' movie references.

Nevada merely got to her feet and left without a word.

"You're pushing it you know."

Lunick looked over to Lind who pushed his chair back and walked over to the other dark-haired male.

Lunick shrugged as the two of them walked away from the table. "Meh, Jethro can't touch me. It's Kellyn I'm worried about."

"It's not fair!"

Both turned around to look at Lark. She was at the very end of the table where Lunick had previously been standing, her fists lightly clenched and her face depicting something close to pain.

"What's not?" Lind asked.

"Nevada and Jethro! The way they treat you!" Lark's eyes were wide with horror at the fact they didn't realise "They look down on you Lind! And Lunick, Nevada didn't even believe you were human!"

The boys' slight smiles didn't even falter.

"Relax Lark, I get looked down upon all the time" Lind smiled "I wouldn't be here if you and Lunick hadn't pulled every string in the book."

"Yeah, we're used to it" Lunick agreed "Besides, you can see where Nevada's coming from."

There were now tears running down Lark's beautiful face.

"The two of you...you don't care..." she swallowed her tears.

Lind shook his head and left. Lunick held Lark's brown gaze for a few more seconds.

"About me, I don't care. But if anyone ever tried to hurt Kellyn, then I would care."


	25. Football Frenzy, Rounders Rampage

**"****Shoot you moron! Shoot!"**

**"****You are...let's say, a special case."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Twenty-Five - Football Frenzy, Rounders Rampage**

It was a surprisingly warm day for January. The sun was shinning, there was a gentle breeze rolling through the trees. Everything was peaceful... well, that was until Keith arrived on scene.

"NICK! TO ME! TO ME!"

The brunet winced as Keith yelled in his ear, whizzing past him towards the enemy goal.

"NO! TO ME! TO ME NICK! OVER HERE!"

Nick covered his aching ears with his hands as Liam tore past him as well, waving just so that Nick could see where he was if he had been turned deaf. With a gentle kick, he passed the ball to Keith who zoomed on ahead of a flabbergasted Liam.

"OI! WAIT UP!" Liam finally snapped out of his horrified astonishment and raced after Keith.

"ALRIGHT! THIS ONE'S MINE!" Keith cheered.

"How did I end up being goalie?" Starlight groaned, standing in between two rocks that marked out the 'goal' with baseball mits on his hands.

"INCOMING!" Keith yelled and gave the ball a hard kick. Seeing what was going to happen, Starlight hit the dirt and protected the top of his head with his hands. The ball shot over his head and zipped through the open window of the training lab. There came a lot of crashing, the startling of Starlys and Kaplan's voice yowling with horror and surprise.

"I'll get it!" Rhythmi called, jogging towards the training lab to retrieve the ball. Keith meanwhile walked over to Starlight, who was still in the ground, tapped his foot and folded his arms.

"What was that Star?!" he complained "You're supposed to _catch_ the ball!"

"Oh yeah!" Starlight looked up, his hands still protecting his skull "Well sorry for defending myself when my face is about to be smashed into a million pieces!"

Yup, you've guessed it. They were playing a good old game of football. It was Sunday and everyone had been bored to death lying about when Liam and Verity had found the black and white ball behind the back of the cafeteria. After inflating it with Cook's bicycle pump, they had found four stones to make the goals and stole a kitchen timer from the cafeteria counting down the halves. Since Ponte wasn't really up for sport, he was in charge of time and Isaac was handling the scores. Rhythmi was referee again. Becs was currently reserve until they had enough people to have even numbers. Until then, Nick, Liam, Keith and Tamie were Team Kool whilst Starlight, Kate, Verity and Sami were Team All-Stars due to Sami's baseball obsession. Tamie was in one goal, Starlight in the other. Currently Starlight was getting hammered by Liam and Keith's mammoth kicks and was now avoiding balls rather than stopping them.

"World's worst goalie" Keith muttered, then looked around and sighed "Where's Kellyn when ya' need 'im?"

"He's seeing his friend off" Kate answered the rhetorical question "He and his friend Clio are saying goodbye to someone...Luke I think...before he heads off to Sinnoh this afternoon."

Keith groaned. "Just when we could use him. He's like the fastest of us all!"

No one had forgotten the time Kellyn had lost to Kate in an arm-wrestling contest, so the others (excluding Isaac and Ponte) had come up with a punishment of chasing Kellyn all over the school. It had been 8 vs. 1 - surely there was no way for the poor shorty to escape. Unfortunately the plan backfired when Kellyn proved to be faster than all of them and scampered up a tree until they all got bored and gave up. That had led to the nick-naming of: 'Kellyn the Bullet'.

"Give him time" Tamie shook her head "I know what it's like leaving friends behind. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he didn't say goodbye."

Keith snorted, miffed. "Whatever you say. Oi Rhythmi! Hurry up! The timer's still going and I have a record to beat!"

* * *

><p>"Shoot! Shoot you moron! Shoot!"<p>

That was Sami hollering from the other end the field. It couldn't be helped, you would probably be yelling too if you were on the same team as the arrogant idiot that was busy doing two-footed flick-ups, around the worlds, head-bouncers and whatever else she felt like showing off with.

"I'm going! I'm going! Geez!" Verity yelled back, turning back to glare at Sami in the midst of Liam going in for a tackle. Somehow she managed to detect the player, despite her distraction, and manoeuvred off in a tight squeeze, breaking for the goal.

Just as the timer rang, a single kick that seemed a little too showy to call it a good attempt sent the ball reeling off a little left of the goal, hit the big rock marking the left side of the goal, ricocheted off, was sent flying back and scored a direct blow to Verity's head. She was instantly knocked off her feet and the ball innocently bounced away.

Sami abandoned her position to go over and tower over Verity, plainly furious.

"What the heck was that?" she yelled. Verity opened up her mouth to respond, but Sami kept going "I've seen toddlers shoot better than you!"

When Verity got to her feet, Sami had to tilt her head upward to keep eye contact. Stupid growth spurt.

"If you think it's so easy, why don't you play forward next time?" Verity gave her a smart-alecky 'what now, Sam?' look that Sami only met with an identical one.

Everyone was staring at the two now.

"You say that every time, but you never let me play forward!" Sami began to poke the older girl's sternum with her finger "Besides, I wouldn't wanna play forward anyway. I might catch the disease you have where your head inflates so you can't fit through the door!"

Sami stuck her tongue out at Verity immaturely before heading off to the sideline and wiping her face on her previously-abandoned jumper.

"Alright! Take five!" Keith called to everyone and Rhythmi blew her whistle. Her only excuse for not wanting to play was that she didn't want to get her high-heels dirty.

The others sat down along the sidelines, resting their weary limbs. Nothing but panting, birds singing and Verity and Sami glaring at each other shattered the serene peace. It stayed like this for several relaxing minutes.

Keith was just getting to his feet when he found the ball rolling to his feet. Looking up, he saw Kellyn making his way over to them, his rucksack over his shoulder and a smile on his face.

"Hey! Kellyn!" Keith waved his arm in the air to get Kellyn's attention. Kellyn waved back.

"We're playing football! Wanna join in?!" Liam called. Though really, he meant: "We're playing football! Get over here and play or I'll throw you head-first into Kincaid's basement!" In order to spare himself the physical harm, Kellyn just shrugged, set his rucksack down on the sideline and took off his coat and jumper.

"Scrawny" Keith grunted.

Kellyn stood on his tiptoes and whacked the back of Keith's head.

"I'd say that hurt, but you'll have to grow a few inches before you can successfully pull of the almighty Gibbs-slap." He in turn performed said attack on Kellyn. "Now _that_ is how you do the Gibbs-slap. It's all in the wrist Kellyn! It's all in the wrist!"

Whilst Kellyn pouted, Keith turned to the others and yelled: "Break's over! On the pitch! You too Becs!"

He was immediately shot a snort of: "Who died and made you president?!"

"Less yatter, more patter!" Keith began jogging on the spot to emphasise his point.

Kellyn blinked, wondering where he got that from. Keith usually believed rhymes only existed to boggle the mind.

"Do we have to play football?" Tamie groaned.

Keith shook his head in exasperation, muttering: "Goalies. They make their job out to be so hard when all they do is stand there!"

"Oh really Keith?!" Keith froze and turned towards Starlight, who did not look happy "Well how would you like a ball to come whizzing towards you across the field at high speeds?! You know, kinda like THIS!"

With that Starlight kicked the ball as hard as he could at the ginger. It nailed Keith in the chest and sent him flying through the air before skidding to a halt on his back. Keith groaned and held his head groggily.

"Okay!" he groaned "I respect goalies."

Starlight was now satisfied.

"Are we gonna play or not?" Nick asked, remaining on the sideline of the pitch.

"There are other games we can play" Kate shrugged.

"Like what?" Liam blinked.

Kate shrugged again. "Rounders?"

Everyone blinked now.

"And where, pray tell, were you suggesting on getting the bats?" Becs folded her arms.

Kate paused for a few seconds, then smiled: "The styler wands. We can play rounders with our styler disks, launch them to throw. Plus it'll help with our launch and aim techniques."

This idea was succeeded by silence.

"Sure" Someone agreed.

Then everyone else did. Not like they had reasonable excuse not to.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, they had located three poles to suffice as bases and four rocks to mark a batting square. Normally, rounders was played with four bases, but due to a shortage of numbers this game only had three. They decided to split into two teams of six, with Isaac sticking as referee and Rhythmi locating more sensible footwear. The teams quickly became labelled: Team Almia and Team 'Elsewhere'; Keith, Ponte, Sami, Rhythmi, Verity and Kellyn on the former team and Tamie, Liam, Nick, Starlight, Becs and Kate on the latter. Kellyn had decided to stick with the Almian team, but he was disappointed when he found Kate and Starlight would be among his opponents. He was also terrified, since Becs of all people would be facing his team. Becs! Becs who could probably kick a ball right through a concrete wall from a mile away!<p>

"Hey! Kel!" Kellyn turned around to see Keith standing right behind him "What position do ya' want? You're the youngest, so we're letting you pick first."

Kellyn paused for a second, before pointing at first base.

"First base?" Keith blinked "But nothing happens at first base!"

Kellyn shrugged and nodded - that was the idea.

Shaking his head with something like disbelief, Keith turned away from Kellyn and began barking orders to the others, much to the annoyance of Verity. In the end, Ponte and Rhythmi took the other two bases, Sami bowled and Verity and Keith were on deep-field duty. Gripping the pole behind him with both hands behind his back, Kellyn noted Liam was the first of the batters.

"You ready?!" Sami called to the blond-haired boy.

Liam nodded and they both turned to Isaac who signalled that the timer had started.

With a dramatic flourish of her arm, Sami launched her capture disk. Smirking confidently, Liam gave the disk a hard whack with the capture wand. The second the disk had left, Liam dematerialised the capture wand and ran for first base.

"IN COMING!" Keith hollered as he ran after the flying disk. He looked over his shoulder ready to catch it...

...and it conked him on the 'ead.

Kellyn face-palmed as Keith fell to ground, eagle-spread. Verity was there in an instant and gave the capture disk a huge kick. It was a big enough kick to take the disk all the way to third base. Unfortunately, Liam made it past the base before Ponte could stump it.

"WE GOTTA ROUNDER! WE GOTTA ROUNDER!" Becs and Liam immediately began cheering.

Keith rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he got to his feet, Verity and Sami glaring at him.

"Who next?!" demanded Sami.

"I'll go" Starlight shrugged, moving into the batting square. He drew his styler ("A proper styler" Keith sulked), and released the capture wand. Then, for the first time, Kellyn noticed something. Sami did too.

"You're left-handed?" she blinked.

Kellyn blinked too. He realised, although he had known Starlight for nearly three months, this was the first time he noticed Starlight holding his styler left-handed. When he thought a little more, he recalled Starlight writing with his left hand too, but he hadn't really paid much attention to it.

'_Not like it's particularly weird_' Kellyn reminded himself '_A lot of rangers are left-handed. Cameron's left-handed. So was Rafe Small. Even Lunick was left-handed. I guess I just never noticed it before._'

"Rhythmi! It's coming right towards ya!"

Keith's voice snapped Kellyn out of his trance. He turned his head to the right just in time to see a blaze of white and blue whiz past him. He blinked back into focus and saw Starlight running for second base. Unfortunatly, Rhythmi caught the disk he had hit and stamped it on top of the base's pole.

"YOU'RE OUT!" Sami bellowed. Starlight shrugged and put his hands in his shorts' pockets. He made his way to the other side of the batting square and sat down in the grass.

Tamie now made her way over to the batting square. She was biting her lip nervously. With another dramtic wave of her arm, Sami launched the capture disk. With a gulp of nervousness, the dark-haired Unovian hit the capture disk as hard as she 's eyes widened as he saw where Tamie's disk was heading. Before he had a chance to defend himself, the disk nailed him in the stomach. He was sent crashing backwards into a sitting position, leaning against the base. Quite miraculously, the disk that hit him managed to hit the base of the...well...base.

"OUT!" Keith barked.

"You okay Kellyn?!" Rhythmi called from somewhere.

Kellyn gave a small groan of pain, holding his aching head, and nodded. Screwing his eyes shut, he kicked the capture disk somewhere and used the pole of the base to get to his feet.

"Me next!" a voice called.

Kellyn blinked himself back to normal. His eyes widened.

'_Kate_!' he thought.

"Don't expected me to go easy on ya!" Sami called.

Kate nodded determinedly. She gave Kellyn a wave and he paused before waving back. As if that was a signal, Sami then launched the capture disk. Kate swung the styler wand forward, but a fraction too soon. The disk skimmed the tip of the styler wand and bounced off behind Kate.

"Batted behind!" Isaac called. Everyone had blinked in surprise because they had almost forgotten about him "First base only!"

Kate sighed with disappointment and jogged lightly over to first base whilst Ponte took it upon himself to go and retrieve the capture disk.

"Hi" she smiled as she stood behind Kellyn at the base.

The small boy smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'm rubbish at rounders" Kate admitted.

Kellyn could tell she was red with embarrassment without even having to look at her. He pointed at himself to say 'Me too.'

"So, Luke's gone to Sinnoh now?" Kate asked.

Kellyn nodded, biting the inside if his mouth. He was trying not to think about the idea of his childhood friend being so far away. Clio was still here, but he'd never been as close to Clio as he had been to Luke.

It seemed to take forever for Ponte to launch the capture disk to Sami, nearly taking Becs and Liam's heads off in the process, and for her to launch it for Nick to hit. It wasn't that he minded Kate standing behind him, but he was a little nervous about her staring into the back of his head like that. He tried not to look in Keith's direction either, since he would probably give him grief later if he caught Kellyn red in the face when Kate was around.

"See ya later Kelly!" Kate giggled as she ran towards second base the second Sami launched the capture disk for Nick.

Kellyn tensed at the nickname but since Kate was gone, there was no sense in complaining.

"You missed!"

"No I didn't!"

"Yeah you did! That nearly hit my head!"

"Oh boo-hoo! Do ya want me to kiss it better?"

Kellyn turned his head towards the batting square. Apparently Sami had missed the hit and Nick was complaining, loudly.

"Quit it will ya!" Becs yelled from behind Nick "Sami just launch it again for Arceus' sake!"

Grumbling, Sami accepted the capture disk back from Ponte. She launched again and this time, to everyone's relief, Nick hit the disk. It wasn't a marvellous hit, he only just got to second base, but it kept Sami quiet.

Kellyn felt his blood freeze when Becs stormed into the batting square, twirling her styler like a cane. Sami looked a little anxious as she launched the capture disk at Becs...

**SMASH!**

**WHEEEeeeeeeee**eeeee...

Everyone's eyes followed the capture disk as it sailed into the air, knocked a flying Wingull out and then vanished behind the tree-line. Well, at least it didn't blast off Team Rocket-style.

Everyone's, except for Becs', mouths were hanging open. Ponte then turned to face them, his ridiculous hair hiding his eyes emo-style.

"Well I'm not gettin' that!"

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile...<strong>  
>At the Northern entrance of Vientown, Crawford and Luana were having a chat whilst returning from a mission to help out some stressed Cherubis in the Vien Forest. Crawford turned his head to the left and saw Mimi playing with her Happinys. Mimi waved and he grinned and waved back. He turned back to Luana to restart the random conversation, but suddenly realised she was beside him anymore. Stopping mid-step rather stupidly, he turned on one foot to see behind him. There was Luana, lying face-down in the dirt.<p>

"WHAT THE?! LUANA!"

He skidded baseball-style to his friend's side and spun her onto her back. He confirmed she was in fact breathing and was therefore alive. She had been apparently knocked out by a falling object.

Crawford's big brown eyes widened.

"Holy bananas! My partner's been knocked out by an un-reactive bomb! AHHHH! It's the world wars all over again! EVERYBODY RUN FOR COVER!"

* * *

><p>After the whole Becs-being-disqualified-from-batting-permanently fiasco, the game of rounders continued. After several minutes, Issac called time and the groups swapped places. Nick became the new bowler for his team. Kellyn really wasn't paying attention. He was holding a long-distance mental conversation with Luna.<p>

"**...And we had to run all the way to the Vien Forest! Seriously! Do you know how far that is for small **_**Pokémon**__**?!**_"

'_I'm sure it's very far._'

"_**VERY doesn't even come CLOSE to it**_! _**Anyway, we get there and find one human on the ground and another doing the funky-Torchic whilst blabbing on about World War 3 or something**_!"

'_Riiiight_.'

"_**I'm serious! And he just plain freaked when he saw me and Shadow**_! _**We had to check he hadn't had a heart attack**_! _**All, the while, Bubble-Gum is staring at us like we're some sort of tourist attraction**_!"

'_Bubble-Gum_?'

"_**The pink-haired girl. I didn't know what her name was, so I called her Bubble-Gum**_."

'_Ugh, right. Palkia forbid you ever have kids; the names you could come up with..._'

"_**I know quite a lot about the subject thank you very much**_!"

'_What in all the regions do you know about kids_?!'

"...lyn. ...ellyn. ...Kellyn!"

Kellyn jolted to his senses and he realised Keith was standing in front of him.

"Aren't you gonna watch me bat?!" Keith pouted.

Since the ginger inevitably wouldn't shut up until he agreed, Kellyn shrugged and nodded. He at least pretended to look vaguely interested as Keith gave the capture disk a good thwack and managed to get a rounder whilst high-fiving Becs who was on third base.

"Me next!" Verity grinned, bouncing into the batting square. Kellyn was interested to see what would happen, since Verity had no styler, being a mechanic-in-training.

Nick launched the capture disk.

"Batterrrrrrrrr-up!" she hollered. Out of nowhere, she produced a wrench and smacked the disk, sending it flying. Waving her wrench in the air with the joy of success, Verity then proceeded to run round the bases. The surprise made Liam freeze...until Starlight launched the capture disk right into the back of his head.

"Yow!" Liam startled. He eventually remembered how to pick up the capture disk and stump the base, but not before Verity got there and rubbed in his face the fact she had scored half a rounder.

"You wanna go next, Kellyn?" Rhythmi offered.

Kellyn shrugged. He made his way into the batting square and activated his styler wand, holding it out to the side of him.

Nick smirked as if to say: "You ready?"

Kellyn nodded. There came a loud click and the spinning capture disk came zipping towards him. Alarmed and with barely enough time to react, Kellyn swung his arm forward. Never thing he knew, the capture disk was flying somewhere to the left and Keith was screaming he had to "GO, GO, GO!"

Springing into action, Kellyn sprinted for first base. He thought Tamie waved at him from her position but he wasn't sure as he made the sharp turn for second base. Barely a second after he arrived, the capture disk shot over his head from Starlight to Liam who stumped his base.

"Hey" the blond boy grinned as he tossed the capture disk on to Nick.

Kellyn gave a nod of acknowledgement. He found himself lucky Kate was on deep-field so he wouldn't have to suffer an even more awkward encounter. Let's just say he was glad when Ponte hit the capture disk so he could run.

Kellyn honestly didn't remember much after that. He remembered Rhythmi borrowing Verity's wrench to hit with and failing miserably. He remembered Becs and Kate's combination getting Keith out and making him complain about it furiously. He some-what remembered his next four turns. He vaguely remembered their time being up and him returning to first base. He wasn't sure if he quite remembered Kate whizzing past his base and squeaking:

"Hiya! Bye-a!"

but he was fairly sure it was just his imagination. In fact, he didn't remember a lot, but what can I say? It's hard keeping up a mental conversation with an angsty female Pokémon whilst trying to focus on a game of rounders! Well, that was until something extremly strange happened to him...

* * *

><p><strong>SMASH!<strong>

Kellyn shook his head as he watched Becs hit the capture disk way above his head, flying into the forest.

"Ah! Come on Jackson!" Keith shook his head with exasperation as Becs quickly gain her team a rounder "Play fair!"

"Like you can talk Dazuru!" Becs stopped just before third base and shook her fist at him "You don't believe in playing fair!"

Ignoring their banter, Kellyn dashed up the steps to retrieve the capture disk. Making sure everyone was still yelling at each other and not physically fighting, Kellyn made his way into the forest.

'_They're like a family_' he thought '_A very dysfunctional family albeit._'

After about a minute of walking, he dropped his head to search the ground for the capture disk. Then he saw it, not too far away from his nose, cupped in a set of...hands?

Kellyn looked up in confusion. He nearly fell over in surprise.

Standing in front of him was a young boy of about nine. His hair was short and spiky and a cross between black and brown, closer to the former. Unusually, two locks of it were very long and were curled around his ears, giving him a Star Trek look. He wasn't tall, only coming up to Kellyn's shoulder. Though it was the boy's eyes that got Kellyn's attention - they were the darkest but most enticing blue he had ever see.

'_Who are you_?' he couldn't help but think. There was something about this boy, something that made Kellyn draw back with curiosity and...fear?

The boy chuckled and rested one hand on his chest.

"Greetings" he smiled radiantly "My name is Owari."

'_Owari_' Kellyn thought '_That means end_.'

"Yes, it does, Hajime" Owari smiled.

Kellyn startled back. '_Did he...did he just hear my thoughts_?!'

"Yes, yes I did" Owari let out a boyish giggle. He touched Kellyn's forehead with his forefinger and then touched his own with the same finger. Kellyn knew this was a typical gimmick between twins or best friends, but was astonished that this stranger did it to him as if they had been friends for life.

"That's because we once were best friends, Hajime" Owari responded "Many past lives ago, we saved Almia together. Of course, you don't remember that. I don't expect you to. But I never forgot you."

Kellyn was startled by these words. But only one thing managed to make itself loud enough for Owari to pick up on it.

'_My name isn't Hajime. It's Kellyn_.'

"It once was" Owari stated "And soon, that name will become important to you again. Owari means end, but Hajime means beginning. Never forget that."

Kellyn was still confused - everything that came out of Owari's mouth just brought more questions than answers. In vain, he tried to entice a useful answer from this strange boy.

'_If you knew me lifetimes ago, how is it you remember me and I not you_?'

"I was wondering how long it was going to take before you thought of that" Owari was still giving off that boyish giggle, making him look almost cute "See, you do remember me - the name is locked away in your subconscious thoughts. No, don't bother searching for it, you won't be able to put the name to the face. Your mind may remember my name, but not my likeness."

'_What is your name_?'

"Ah" Owari's face fell ever so slightly as he bit his lip "I would tell you, but if I did you would have 27 organisations, 143 bounty hunters and half of New Zealand on your tail, and I wouldn't want to put you through that, my dear friend." Owari grinned again whilst Kellyn just boggled at him "No, New Zealand's a country. Yes, it's like a region and a very big one, but it's in another world. And no, I can't show you it! That would go against my job!"

'_Your job_?' Kellyn triple blinked. This kid had a job?

"Hey! I'm not a kid!" Owari pouted. Then he immediately cheered up again; it appeared he was incapable of staying sad. "But yes, my job it special. It's like this."

Carefully, Owari levelled the back of his hand and balanced the capture disk on it.

"Most of the time, the worlds are balanced, like this. But sometimes..."

Owari tilted his hand slightly and the capture disk wobbled.

"...there come times when the worlds become unbalanced. Usually, these imbalances fix themselves, but sometimes, they escalate and..."

Owari titled his hand further and the capture disk slipped and fell. But before it hit the ground, Owari caught it in his palm, cushioning the blow.

"It's my job to prevent these imbalances, and fix them if they occur" Owari explained, straightening again "Which is why I'm here."

Kellyn gulped, but he didn't know why. He couldn't even remember giving the command to do so.

'_Am I an imbalance_?'

"You personally, no" Owari answered "But, I came here for two reasons. I first bring a message from Miss Lark Brown."

'_Lark Brown_? _I don't know a Lark Brown._'

"No, but she knows you" Owari replied "But her arriving in this world would cause an imbalance, so she asked me to come instead. She wants you to know your brother is watching you closely, more closely than you think. And that he misses you." Owari's enchanting eyes widened. "Oh! And Lind wants you to watch over Shadow-Of-The-Willow-Trees. And personally cuff Starlight over the head if he mistreats him."

'_Lind_?'

"The Dazurus' unofficial guardian. Or something like that anyway. Lind sorta goes by his own rules. But he's on our side of the council...if Lind has a side that is. I think he just sticks with the leading team" Owari briefly stopped his rambling to bite the inside of his mouth. "He's pretty close to Shadow-Of-The-Willow-Trees, you know, the Umbreon. But I can't tell you any more than that, or I'll be going against my purpose."

Kellyn took several deep breaths, letting this all soak in. When he did, he took a deep breath.

'_What's the other reason you came_?' he asked.

Then Owari's face fell, dramatically. The change was almost frightening. A part of Kellyn's brain was telling him to run, but he fought the impulse back.

"I told you before, you're weren't an imbalance, but that's partially a lie" Owari said, making Kellyn's heart skip a beat with fear. "You're not a danger, but you have the potential to be one. See, you're not an imbalance, but a paradox."

Kellyn blinked in confusion. '_A...paradox_?'

"Let me explain. Most psychic beings gain their powers from experiences, experiences where those powers are needed the most. For instance, you learnt invisibility when you were about to be spotted in a frightening situation. You learnt telekinesis when you felt weak and overpowered. However, this is not always the case."

Owari looked Kellyn dead in the eye, making sure the brunet understood what had been said and the severity of what was to come. But Kellyn was a straight as a pole, his eyes wide and drinking in the information.

"You are...let's say, a special case. Rather than just learning of your gifts from past experiences, you're somehow learning them from future experiences; in other words, your mind thinks it's experiencing things that haven't happened yet, such as your telepathy." Owari took a breath and ran a hand through his dark spikes. "There were once people who could see future events, but they have long since died out. So there leaves only one reason. To be quite frank, Hajime, you were never supposed to exist."

Kellyn's breath hitched in his throat. His heart began to race and he suddenly found he couldn't breathe. Owari's words ran around in circles in his head like Ponyta on a race track.

'_You were never supposed to exist. You were never supposed to exist._'

"All of time is ruled by Dialga, who decides the fates of everyone within the time stream. She never intended for you to be born, but for some reason, you were. Your parents and Lunick meddled with time, and you are the result. You can't create things to use to your advantage like most psychic beings, but you can take what has already been created and shape it to your will. This is, of course, much more dangerous, which is why the Fallen Council fear you."

Owari saw Kellyn was frozen and let the boy try and get over his panic. When he saw Kellyn was going to have a seizure if he didn't breathe, he snapped his fingers. Automatically Kellyn felt his chest loosen and he was able to take several gasping breaths.

"I didn't come here you bring your destruction though, Hajime" Owari explained "I just came of warn you. I don't know when this paradox will end, or how it'll escalate or even if it ever will. But I just want to to be careful, and not to abuse these powers. You understand?"

Kellyn took a deep breath to steady himself and then nodded.

"I hope you're paying attention Lunick" Owari suddenly said, his eyes narrowing as he stared...at Kellyn? "You can't force Kellyn to do anything against his will, you're not his guardian yet. You've meddled in affairs you should never have touched already, I won't let you destroy my friend any further."

Kellyn was startled but Owari didn't even flinch as he continued this one-way conversation.

"A barely-human being with a great gift who has lived on for too long and hurt too many people, must learn when it's time for them to stop."

There was silence for a few seconds. Not even the wind dared to speak. Then, without any warning, Owari recoiled as if struck, his once pretty eyes glimmering with sadness and fear.

"I..." he breathed "I...I wasn't talking about me."

For a few seconds there was silence, neither boy knowing what to say. Kellyn was still confused about the previous conversation; why did Owari address Lunick when he looked at Kellyn? And who replied to Owari's words?

"KELLYN! HAVE YA GOT THE DISK YET?!"

At the sound of Keith's voice, Kellyn looked over his shoulder towards the rounders match. He felt Owari slip the capture disk between his fingers.

"You'll never see me again, my friend."

Kellyn turned back to Owari, but the boy was gone. He looked down at the capture disk in his fingers, a sick feeling in his throat and stomach.

'_You were never supposed to exist. You were never supposed to exist. You were never supposed to exist._'


	26. Oh for the love of peanuts!

**"It was all in the name of justice!"**

**"****I blame you for all the bad things in my life up until now!"**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Twenty-Six - Oh for the love of peanuts!**

"I swear if one more person pinches or punches me, I will punch them into next week!"

Nick looked up from the homework he was completing in the common room. He looked over at Liam who was at the base of one of the sofas, finishing off his square-foot Lego castle. The blond was genuinely pleased with his work.

'_Did Kate just threaten someone_?' they both thought, eyebrows raised.

Sure enough, seconds later, Kate came storming up the stairs into the common room, fists clenched, blue eyes blazing with cold fire. She plonked herself down on the other sofa, not the one Liam was sitting near, folding her arms and legs and muttering words under her breath that a good eleven-year-old girl shouldn't know.

'_What did some poor soul do to her to make her this angry_?' Nick couldn't help but wonder. Liam looked like he couldn't be less bothered and went back to making adjustments to one of his turrets.

Not long after this all happened, Kellyn and Keith made their way into the common room. Kellyn was carrying his school books whilst Keith was carrying...the equivalent of a tonne of mud on his body.

"Dare I ask?" Nick raised one eyebrow at Keith.

Keith shrugged, sat down on the floor close to Liam and pulled his own large Lego castle (his was of red Legos instead of green Legos) out from under the sofa.

Kellyn answered Nick's question.

"He fell in a puddle and crashed into a tree?" Nick read, blinking.

"It was all in the name of justice!" Keith pointed to the sky dramatically.

Kellyn shook his head in exasperation.

**He was chasing a styler thief in order to clear his name**

"Oh yeah, Mr Kincaid mentioned that" Nick nodded "So, whodunnit?"

**A creep**

Nick blinked and repeated this in confusion.

"A crazy creep!" Keith added "Hooked nose and all! And he wanted to become a ranger!"

"And he stole a bunch of stylers?" Nick blinked "Well he's off to a flying start."

Keith just nodded before returning his attention to his castle. Then he frowned.

"Hey!" he demanded "Where's my knights?! And my king?!"

Liam smirked evilly. "They are my captives"

He jerked his head to the corner of his own castle. Keith's little Lego people were cornered between a tower and the main wall by two dragons and five cannons.

"Oi!" Keith jumped to his feet "Give me back my peoples!"

He jumped forward to save his little Lego people, but Liam noticed in horror that the act would destroy his castle and pushed the ginger boy back onto his rear. An all-out battle ensued, involving Lego limbs flying, plastic cannonballs pelting everything, a broken Lego wall ("LIAM I'M GONNA KILL YA!"), hair yanking, nose pulling, screams of both pain and rage and the destruction of the Great Dragon of the Bane. Miraculously, they didn't have the brains to use any table legs, vases, etc. as weapons before Keith finally rescued his Lego people. With a huff of annoyance, the ginger plunked himself down on the carpet, purposely not looking at Liam as he began to reconstruct his broken wall. The blond grumbled something he had obviously picked up from his older brother and began to remake his 'dead' dragon.

"O-key..." Nick and Kellyn were just staring at the scene. Nick finally decided to break the silence. "So, what's up with Kate?"

**Dunno. She's been complaining about people punching and pinching her.**

"Oh, I get it" Nick smiled. Kellyn blinked in confusion. "Here I'll show you." He beckoned Kellyn to stand next to the table. He pinched Kellyn's arm and then punched it. "Pinch, punch, first of the month."

Kellyn was still blinking in confusion, but now looked a little annoyed; he could see where Kate was going with this.

"It's the first of February" Nick explained "It's a tradition for the first of a month."

Kellyn frowned.

**That's a stupid tradition**

"Meh, maybe" Nick shrugged "Some don't think so."

"IT'S HOPELESS!"

Nick and Kellyn turned their heads to Liam, who had his head thrown back, eyes screwed shut and was wailing as if in anguish, holding the largest four pieces of his broken dragon.

"I'VE LOST HIM! HE'S DEAD! DEAD!" he wailed. Then his eyes turned murderous "YOU DRAGON MURDERER!"

He pounced on Keith, punching him repeatedly in the jaw. Keith, who had no warning beyond Liam's yelling, which he was always doing, found himself pinned against the floor on his back with a crazy blond kneeling on his mid-section and trying to dent his face in. After a few stunned seconds though, he began to fight back.

**Should we help him?**

"Nah" Nick shook his head "He'll be fine." He looked up from his homework. "Wait, you did mean Keith right?"

Kellyn paused, then shrugged. He pointed at the two of them and then whirled his finger at the side of his head.

"Yeah, I've gotta agree with you there" Nick nodded.

Starlight walked up the steps into the common room now. He looked at Liam and Keith fighting, shook his head and then, plainly wanting nothing to do with it, walked into the boys' dorm room.

"RHYTHMI!" A voice bellowed from the other side of the room, along with a lot of banging.

Kellyn and Nick turned their heads towards the bathroom door. Becs was standing in front of it, banging on it with her powerful fist so hard the boys were amazed the door didn't have a hole in it right now.

"HURRY UP!" the dark-haired girl bellowed "Your pretty enough without make-up! Now get your pretty little face outta there! I need the toilet! RHYTHMI!"

"What?!" Becs blinked in confusion; she spun around to see Rhythmi standing behind her, looking irritated.

"Huh? What?!" Becs spluttered "But...what?...I..." She looked at the door "But then who...?" The her eyes narrowed "KEITH! STOP MESSING ON WITH YOUR HAIR!"

"It's not me!" Keith yelped, still trying to get Liam to stop punching him "Somebody help me out here!"

"I'd help you out Keith, but unfortunately I'm being cornered in the bathroom by the Incredible Hulk's daughter...on steroids."

At the sound of the voice in the bathroom, Becs immediately went red with anger again. She rammed her fist into the bathroom door and one could almost hear wood splintering.

"SAMI!" she roared "GET OUT OF THIS BATHROOM RIGHT NOW!"

"Who's to say it's me?" the voice tried, now becoming very low and boyish.

"'Cos I've seen nearly all the boys!" Becs hissed "Ponte's eating marshmallows and Isaac would never offer to help Keith out of anything! And you're the only girl besides me who would try that trick of imitating a boy's voice! Now, GET OUT!"

Sami meeped.

Kellyn stopped listening after that.

"Oh thank Arceus!" Keith gasped as Liam abandoned bashing his face in in order to play on the Nintendo Wii. His nose was bleeding, so Keith dug out a handkerchief to try and stop it "Yeah! Thanks for helping out girls!" Pointedly ignoring Kellyn and Nick, he frowned at Sami and Rhythmi who were making their way back to the girls' dorm. They smartly ignored him. "Not like you would've been able to do anything."

"What was that, Keith?" Kate growled, evidently hearing it perfectly enough though. Keith, in all his stupidity, didn't realise this.

"I'm just saying girls are no good at fighting compared to bo-..." Keith didn't get to say anymore, because then Kate smashed him with a pillow so hard he fell over backwards.

Kellyn winced. Geez; Kate was stronger than she looked.

"You moron! You can be really mean when you want to be, Keith!" she hissed.

Keith spluttered, trying to get his voice back.

"This coming from the one who just assaulted me with a pillow?!" he complained "I might have to tell Miss April you're way more violent than she knows!"

"Am not!" Another pillow smack.

"Oh yeah! 'Cos hitting me is really gonna prove ya point!"

Kate finally growled one last time, but realised Keith had a point and returned to the sofa.

"I'm surrounded by lunatics" Nick muttered, shaking his head and he went back to his homework.

Kellyn just nodded in agreement.

"ARGHHHHHHHH!"

'_Oh Arceus what now_?!' Nick groaned internally. Keith glanced at the game of Mariokart Liam was playing. The little Koopa Troopa character was spinning around in circles, making what sounded like dizzy squeaking noises, whilst Liam's knuckles had turned white and his uneven teeth were grinding together in seething anger.

"Liam, you just hit a car" Keith informed him, even though it was obvious he knew that.

"It came out of nowhere!" Liam complained, trying to claw back his pride "It was unavoidable!"

"It was bright red!" Keith protested "And parked at the side of the road!"

Liam had no argument, but roared with anger.

"YOU!" he roared at Keith for no explicable reason "I blame you for all the bad things in my life up until now! After now, I blame Nick!"

Nick blinked, wondering what he had done to Liam to deserve this. Liam and Keith meanwhile began another fist fight.

"Oh for the love of peanuts!" Kate yelled, exasperated, before storming downstairs.

Kellyn quickly decided to follow her, the craziness and randomness being too much for him. Keith's nose chose then to start bleeding again.

"I agree with her!" the ginger groaned, trying to use his already blood-stained handkerchief to stop the nosebleed "Oh for peanut's sake, why's it always me getting beat up?!"

He rushed towards the kitchen, probably because the one and only bathroom was still being used by Becs. With one final yowl of anger, Liam stormed off into the boys' dorm, probably going to rant on to Ponte about the unfairness of life.

"Ah, peace and quiet" Nick sighed in relief, picking up his pen again and scanning over what he had already written "Thank peanuts."

* * *

><p>Kellyn stretched as he made his way outside from the courtyard. After the randomness of that afternoon, he has spent the rest of the day in the library with Isaac and Ponte, though Ponte only came in to eat his marshmallows in peace.<p>

The sun was now setting and the sky was inked in colours of honey-yellow, faded-orange and cotton-candy-pink. Since the bell for dinner hadn't rung yet, Kellyn decided to go and visit the Pledge Stone. He wasn't sure why, he just knew he had to. Something was drawing him to it.

As if his body was on auto-pilot, he made his way across the field and down the steps to the Ascension Square. He was surprised by what he saw there. Or should I say, who. Two figures, sitting near the water's edge. One was rather tall, even whilst sitting down, and looked to be entering his teens. His silver hair shimmered amber in the light of the setting sun. The other was smaller, Kellyn's age, and was giggling. Her ginger hair seemed fire-red in the dying light.

'_Starlight and Kate_?'

Kellyn slowly made his way over to them, unsure of why they were sitting here like this. If the two of them came together, surely they should be sitting next to each other rather than a metre or so apart, although the idea of that strangely made Kellyn's heart clench. These thoughts made him zone out for a second, which was just long enough for him to step on a twig. The cliché crunching sound was enough to make both Kate and Starlight turn around in their seats.

"Hi Kellyn!" Kate smiled with a small wave "You came down here too?"

Kellyn just nodded.

"Keith, Liam and Ponte were playing a rather disruptive game in the common room, something to do with turtles and whatnot driving cars" Starlight explained "So we decided to watch the sunset. You want to join us?"

Kellyn paused but, figuring he didn't have anything to lose, shrugged with agreement. He joined them by the sea's edge, sitting between them and succumbing to their content silence and peacefulness. Since they were facing east, they couldn't see the setting sun, but the sunset was still beautiful. Blood-red lingered on the darkening horizon whilst buttercup-yellow curved above them like the inside of a snow globe, trapping a few pink-stained clouds below it's surface. The dying light reflected on the calm ocean, making it look like the whole water was a blazing body of fire.

"It's beautiful" Kate sighed.

"We should come here more often" Starlight nodded. Kellyn agreed with that. "It's moments like these that are worth existing for."

'**_You were never supposed to exist._**'

The mood instantly plummeted as Kellyn remembered Owari's words. He lowered his head with the smallest of sighs.

'_I'm a paradox_? _An anomaly_? _What does that mean_? _How am I not normal_? _How is it I even exist in the first place_? _I don't understand. I don't have all the answers to these questions_.' He sighed. '_Maybe Owari knows the answers. But will he tell me them_? _I doubt it, I can never understand what he's saying even when he gives me a straight answer. Or maybe he'd just kill me first; after all, that was what he was initially sent to do_...'

Vatonage.

Kellyn was unsure why the word Principle Lamont had taught them just that morning came into his head now. But it did, almost as if someone had planted it there.

'_The light submerged in darkness_' he remembered '_Is there any light in all this darkness_? _Is there light in a paradox_? _Hmm, maybe_...' He looked at the ones sitting either side of him, their eyes wide as they drank in the stunning scenery. '_My friends_? _Could they be my light_?' He smiled '_That sounds nice_.'

"KEITH DAZURU! PONTE RONKO! LIAM NELSON!"

'..._That, on the other hand, doesn't_.'

"FOR THE LOVE OF PEANUTS, HOW MANY TIMES MUST I GIVE YOU DETENTIONS BEFORE YOU GET THE MESSAGE?! NO RUNNING IN THE HALLWAYS!"

Kellyn snorted with laughter. Kate giggled at Kincaid's yelling.

"Seriously, what is it with all the peanuts?" Starlight shook his head in exasperation.

Kellyn shrugged.

"I don't know" Kate also shrugged "Maybe it's another first-of-the-month thing. Or maybe I started a craze."

Then Kellyn wrote something they both laughed at:

**I hate peanuts**


	27. Special - Hajime and Owari

**"Come life or death; rain, fire or snow; an unbreakable connection will always bring you home."**

**"****You talk about me like we've met before."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Special - Chapter Twenty-Seven - Hajime and Owari**

Sunrise was coming. Hajime could tell. The sky was no longer dark and pale colours were leaking like ink into the cloudless sky. Sitting on the grass at the edge of the lake before the castle, he watched the colours reflecting off the water, the ice having melted for the summer, and making the sky seem endless.

Hajime flinched as he heard something whiz by within an inch from his ear. An arrow embedded itself in the soil near his knee, quivering for a few seconds from the impact of being launched into the ground. Hajime growled as he heard chuckling behind him.

"Watch it!" he spun around, one fist clenched "You could've kill me if you hadn't missed!"

His best friend came down the slope slowly, slotting his bow into his quiver. He sat down and plucked his arrow from the dirt.

"Nope, I didn't miss" Owari grinned obnoxiously "I aimed for there. If I wanted to kill you, we wouldn't be talking right now."

Hajime rolled his eyes. "Alright, Mr Cocky. Maybe we should all start calling you Sir Robin Hood instead."

Owari grinned at that, but then realised Hajime was just joking.

"You meanie!" he slapped Hajime on the arm "You can be real mean when you want to be Haji!"

"Coming from the one who just smacked me?" Hajime raised an eyebrow.

Owari opened his mouth to argue, but decided against it, seeing as Hajime had never lost a battle of words in his life.

"Well at least I'm not as violent and blood-thirsty as you are" he retorted instead.

"Come on Owari, you're hardly a pacifist" Hajime grunted "You'd probably make a brilliant swordsman if you put your mind to it. I could always talk to the Master about it."

"Nah, archery's for me" Owari shook his head "I don't really like getting my hands dirty."

Hajime rolled his eyes and grunted: "Of course you wouldn't. Plus you're just plain lazy. Archers barely do anything."

"Actually, Hajime, you'd be surprised by what archers are capable of doing. They're agile and their arrows very rarely miss."

At the sound of the new female voice, Hajime and Owari both tensed. They turned around in their seats, but they didn't really need to. They knew that voice as well as their own, the third of their trio friendship.

"Lady Clara!" They both attempted to jump to their feet, but just ended up bashing each other's forehead and falling to the ground again.

The twelve-year-old princess, a year younger than the two them, giggled, her pale-blonde locks jiggling as she did so.

"I wish you two wouldn't call me that" she sighed, kneeling in the grass in between them "It gets tiresome with everyone else."

"Of course, sorry Lady Clara...sorry! Not-lady Clara!" the two boys both said. The fact they said it all in unison started the giggling again.

"Oh! I made you guys something!" Clara gasped, fiddling with her sleeve. Her dresses had no pockets, so she always carried things in her sleeves. They were too big for her anyway.

"Lad... I mean, Clara, you didn't have to" Hajime told her.

Owari shook his head at his friend furiously, his eyes gleaming at the idea of a present. Opportunist.

From her left sleeve, which was a pretty silvery-blue colour like the rest of her dress, Clara produced two bracelets. Both had one charm on: a raindrop. One raindrop was blue, the other red.

"Here" Clara pressed the blue raindrop bracelet into Hajime's palm "These stones once came from one gem. As long as you have one, you're part of an unbreakable chain."

She slipped the red one onto her left wrist.

"Yeah, love's all around" Owari sighed dramatically.

"Oh! Sorry Owari!" Clara gasped just as dramatically "There wasn't enough enough to make three!"

Owari snorted and prepared to get up. "Oh, alright then! If that's how it's gonna be! We'll leave and you can just go back to...brushing your hair, or whatever it is you do all day!"

Before he could leave in a huff though, Clara pulled him back down again.

"I'm just kidding Owari!" she laughed "Here!" From her right sleeve, she brought out a third bracelet. He cheered up again and accepted it from her. He rubbed the yellow raindrop between his fingers, almost thoughtfully.

"So, where did you get these stone from?" Hajime asked.

Clara raised hers up to the sky so the sunlight shone through it and made it sparkle like a real raindrop.

"My nurse gave them to me" she explained "She said it was rumoured they all came from a sacred crystal. Because they all came from the same gem, they are drawn to each other. And therefore, if you have one of these gems, you'll forever be tied to the others." She smiled "An unbreakable connection."

For a few seconds, no one spoke, as if they didn't know what to say after this, but, as always, it was Owari who broke the silence.

"So, these bracelets will keep us together, like, forever?" he asked, then grinned "That's so cool!"

"Sounds a bit bogus to me" Hajime muttered, staring at his bracelet.

"On come on Haji!" Owari rolled his eyes "Have faith in something for once! Anything that keeps us together forever has to be good, right?!"

Hajime put on a small smile and nodded. "Aye."

"Aye?" Owari blinked "Who are you, Blackbeard? Is that any way to talk in front of a Lady?"

Owari gestered dramatically at Clara. Hajime burst out laughing at the irony of Owari's statement, considering Owari's usual language whilst around...well...everyone.

"Together forever" Clara sighed, looking at the growing sun rays caught in the red gleam of her charm. Then recited what appeared to be a poem: "Come life or death; rain, fire or snow; an unbreakable connection will always bring you home."

* * *

><p>For the life or him, Solomon couldn't understand how exactly he had got into this situation. The last thought he could confidently remember was answering the door whilst in the middle of his grammar homework. A petite blonde of about his age was standing on the doorstep, giggling like an obnoxious schoolgirl. She had been holding a tray of cookies...or was it flapjacks? He couldn't remember, but he was sure she'd been wearing oven gloves.<p>

"Hello!" she giggled "My family just moved in next-door! I'm Caitlin, but everyone calls me Caty!"

Solomon's life went on a downwards spiral from there. It continued when Caty came over to his house EVERY DAY! Then, when he went back to school, he found she was now starting in his class. It wasn't that Solomon didn't like Caty, he was actually secretly glad to have someone who considered him a friend and not the 'emo kid in the back of the classroom who actually goes the work set'. It was just, she could be so...annoying. Annoying to the point where he debated whether he should start training the family Growlithe as a guard dog.

And to top it all off, Caty loved adventure. She was always charging off into the woods to find new Pokémon to play with or get bitten by. So, one day, out of the blue, she suddenly came out with:

"Have you heard of the legend of the ghost of Smoke-Stain Mountain? The legend of a mountain climber who lost his wife so climbed up into the caves and was never seen again? You have, that's great! (Gasp!), I have the most amazing idea! How about we climb up Smoke-Stain Mountain and see the ghost! The tales we'll be able to tell the others at school! Oh please Solomon, pleeeeeeeeease!"

Which is why poor Solomon is halfway up a mountain on a sweltering hot day with his dark-brown hair and itchy clothing glued to his skin and his eyes virtually closed from exhaustion. Meanwhile, Caty of course is skipping ahead, not at all bothered by the weather and singing a merry song whilst Solomon is pitifully moaning about becoming his shirt.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this!" Caty squealed, which Solomon had to agree with "This is so brilliant!"

Solomon snorted, grunting: "It was still brilliant forty-seven times ago, Caitlin."

Yup, that's right, Solomon still didn't call her by her nickname. Why? Well I think the answer's pretty obvious by now.

"We're here!" Caty squealed again, now stopping in front of a large cave mouth.

'_Thank Arceus for that_!' Solomon thought with a gasp.

He achingly forced his steps to quicken so within seconds he was standing beside Caty, although he was sweating buckets and taking long gasping breaths.

However, when he turned towards the cave, he really wasn't very relieved. It didn't have a 'Do Not Enter Unless You Want Your Mangled Corpse To Be Discovered' sign above it, but it should.

"Come on!" Caty, of course, didn't read the non-existent danger signs practically bordering the cave mouth. So she grabbed Solomon's wrist and dragged him into the cave. "We're going to see the ghost, aren't we?!"

Solomon was inclined to snap:

"No, I don't want to be here and this is darn-well dangerous and stupid."

but before he could say anything, they were both plunged into darkness. Solomon was determined not to be freaked out, but he was only ten and his voice had risen to an almost girlish pitch.

"C-Couldn't you have brought a torch?!"

"No silly!" Caty giggled as she dragged him along through the blackness "We're meeting a ghost! Ghosts don't like light! Do you want to scare it off?!"

'_Yes_' Solomon was tempted to say.

But in the end, he decided it was better if he just kept his mouth shut, or Caty would start complaining and they'd be here even longer.

"Here Ghosty! Here Ghosty Ghosty Ghosty Ghosty!" Caty began calling like a child might call for their puppy "We're not afraid of yooooooou!"

'_Is she for real_?' Solomon thought, sweat-dropping.

But he wasn't doing that for much longer.

They had apparently reached the back of the cave. It was almost round, and for the first time Solomon realised just how narrow the passage they had just come through was. But that wasn't what was crazy: it was the fact there was a heap of sand in the middle of the floor of the cave that looked flattened like someone had lain on it multiple times and fastened to the wall were two burning torches. And they were lit!

'_That means someone was in here not long ago_.' Solomon swallowed as he thought this. Now clutching Caty's hand like it was a lifeline, they took a few steps forward, huddled together. Solomon had suddenly forgot how hot and tired he was; now he was feeling extremly cold.

'_We need to go_' he thought, pulling Caty backwards a step.

She seemed to understand, not saying anything, but beginning to turn around with me.

"Well, that was easier than I thought."

Solomon swore he nearly had a heart attack. Standing behind them, just over a metre away, was a boy their age. His dark hair was ruffled except for two long locks coiled around his ears. His dark blue eyes were like the ocean: pretty to look at but deep enough to drown in. His nose and cheeks were slightly freckled whilst his face reflected the torchlight, his skin resembling something close to copper. Solomon and Caty were both small for their age, but this kid seemed to loomed over them, aided by their fear. But that wasn't what really scared Solomon.

'_He couldn't have passed us in the corridor, and he didn't follow us up the mountain. But the room was empty before. He just...appeared. He just APPEARED_?!'

Caty took another step forward, still holding her companion's hand, her face set and determined. Taking a shaky breath, she asked:

"Are you the ghost of Smoke-Stain Mountain?"

The fact she said this as if she was asking whether it was going to rain on Saturday make Solomon boggle.

'_She must be a few screws short of a box_.'

Surprisingly, this mysterious kid just laughed at the question.

"Nope, not me" he laughed.

Caty blinked in confusion. "Are you a ghost?" she asked in genuine curiosity.

"Me?" the dark-haired boy laid a hand on his chest "I might be."

"Really!" Caty's brown eyes lit up "That's so brilliant!"

Solomon had really no idea what to say, or if he should say anything at all.

"What's your name?" Caty pressed on

"My name?" the kid asked "It begins with an O."

Solomon blinked, not exactly getting what 'O' was hinting at. 'O' then looked directly at him, making him feel almost uncomfortable.

"Still pinning after Clara, are we Hajime?" he asked, almost in a tease.

Solomon meant to say: "Are you talking to me?"

But for some reason he didn't understand, it came out as: "How did you find us?"

'O' smiled and held up his left hand. Tangled in his fingers was a bracelet with a single charm: a yellow raindrop. Seeing that bracelet made something in Solomon lurch, but he wasn't sure what or why.

"An unbreakable connection" was all 'O' said.

Solomon gasped as he felt something in his chest start to burn, sending fire through his veins. Beside him, Caty shrieked loud enough to burst his eardrums and clawed at her ears. Her legs gave out and she crashed to her knees before falling onto her side. She had apparently fainted.

"Caitlin!" Solomon dropped to his knees, despite the pain, shaking her in an attempt to wake her "Caitlin, wake up! Caty!"

Finally, the pain became too much for him and he too fell to the grounds but before he passed out, he was sure he heard 'O' say:

"I'm sorry, Haji. Don't remember me."

_Solomon and Caty couldn't remember much of that incident when they woke up. They remembered going exploring and meeting someone, but they couldn't remember who. This memory blank puzzled them greatly, and no matter how much they tried to move on from it, they found they couldn't. They certainly couldn't remember the person's name._

_Surprisingly, this had a dramatic effect on their friendship. Caty seemed to become...less wild, to Solomon. It was almost like she didn't want any more adventures after that. And Solomon seemed to stop being so uptight to Caty, like this adventure had taken a massive weight off of his shoulders. They both changed, but for the better._

_Years later, when they were teenagers and looking forward to the best part of their lives, they like to sit on Solomon's front porch, looking over the valley at the sunset, thinking about their strange encounter on Smoke-Stain Mountain. It was the evening before they were due to leave home, their last sunset together as children, Caty said something that surprised Solomon, but seemed to almost make sense to him._

_"It starts with an O."_

* * *

><p>Changhyi had been expecting a normal night, just walking down the Castellia City streets. Though that did depend on your definition of normal. Changhyi's version of normal was a bit loose.<p>

Sang-Min was at least a building ahead, not thinking of the consequences of waltzing like a girl through the darkest of the Castellian alleys. Ae-Cha, the only female of their group, was not helping by skipping along beside Mr Catastrophe-In-The-Making - i.e. her brother - giggling and smiling, holding the hem of her dress with one hand. Personally, Changhyi thought she looked stunning in it, but there was no way he was going to tell her that. He didn't want things to be awkward between them at this Christmas/birthday party, it wouldn't be fair on Eun - the birthday girl. So he kept quiet and just walked along behind them, grumbling about how sure he was that Sang-Min was going to get hammeredtonight and wake up with a splitting headache. And of course Changhyi would be the one dumped with the responsibility of taking the idiot home and having to bare the brunt of his 'migraine temper' when he woke up. Yup, the benefits of crushing on your best friend's sister - she's too cute to say no to.

This is Changhyi's normal.

This however, isn't:

"Last time I checked the carol went: 'Tis the season to be jolly'."

Changhyi turned around again. Leaning against the wall of an alley, just visible in the beam of a light above a doorway, was a boy. The dim light meant Changhyi couldn't see much of him, but he wanted to take a guess that the not was younger than him and had dark hair.

"I am jolly" Changhyi grunted "My version of jolly."

"I see" the boy, definitely younger than Changhyi's eighteen years, hummed "You used to say that a lot."

"Used to? I don't believe we've ever met before" Changhyi blinked in confusion, now completely ignoring Sang-Min skipping along like a schoolgirl whilst positively screaming 'Ding Dong Merrily On Hiiiiiiiiigh!' - an act that would normally annoy him beyond his wits end.

"Not in this life" the boy shook his head "But in many others."

As the boy shook his head, Changhyi caught a brief glimpse of his face. He was surprised to see the boy couldn't be older than eleven, since it was unusual for kids that age to talk to eighteen-year-olds in dark and potentially hazardous alleyways.

"Huh?" Changhyi blinked again "Not in this life? You're not making any sense."

Instead of trying to make some thing make sense to Changhyi, the boy went off on a different tangent. "Her name is Ae-Cha? Right?"

"Ae-Cha?" Changhyi repeated "What about her?"

"You like her, right?" the boy prompted, causing Changhyi to shamefully blush "Seriously, three lives later and you're still head-over-heels with her."

That turned the embarrassment into utter confusion. But before Changhyi could ask though, Owari asked his own question: "And you haven't told her?"

"What, are you my relationship counsellor?!" Changhyi finally had enough "What do you know about love?!"

"Plenty" the boy folded his arms, still leaning against the dirty wall of the side-alley "Having to coach you in telling Clara your feelings was tiring and I swear you shaved off at least three years of my original life."

"Clara?" Okay, now this kid was really not making any sense.

The boy's face fell, as if he had just realised this.

"Oh...she's not called that anymore..." the boy smacked his forehead "Stupid Owari! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" He then looked up at Changhyi again. "Sorry to have to do this again, old friend."

"Huh? What do you...?"

"CHANGHYI!"

Changhyi jumped and whirled around to the right. Sang-Min was rushing...er, galloping towards him.

"Sang" he sighed "Don't you have the brain capacity to walk normally like regular people?"

A hand came into sharp contact with his arm.

"Don't be mean about my brother, Chang!" Ae-Cha shouted at him. But her pretty grey eyes told him she was only joking.

"Who were you talking to?" Sang-Min asked, still bouncing up down in hyper-ness. Did he have ADHD? Maybe.

"Me?" Changhyi blinked "I was talking to...er..."

He trailed off and tried to remember what had happened just seconds ago.

Blank.

Nothing. Nada. Zero.

'_What just happened_?' he thought '_Was I talking to someone_?' He looked down at his watch and his eyes widened '_I lost five minutes_? _FIVE whole minutes_?! _What happened in five minutes_?'

"Hellooooooo! Chang?!" Changhyi blinked and realised Sang-Min was waving his hand in front of his face.

"Has he zoned out again?" Ae-Cha asked, shouting genuinely concerned.

"Uh huh" was the stupid blond's reply "He's a lost cause, sis."

Changhyi battered said stupid blond around the head.

"You know, Sang, I'm not against abandoning you whilst you're still sober!" he warned.

Sang-Min grinned and took off running down the alley. Finally! He moves normally for once!

"Come on!" Ae-Cha giggled and wrapped her friend's wrist, dragging him around behind her "Let's have some fun."

He nodded and pushed the strange memory loss out of his head in an effort to having some fun at Christmas with his best friend and her moron brother.

"Yepamundo!"

Ugh...stupid Sang-Min.

* * *

><p>Night had fallen on Olivine Beach. Whilst the town was still lit by the few lights still not turned off for the late evening, the beach was only illuminated by the stars, the moon and the twirling beams of the lighthouse on top of the cliffs.<p>

Standing on the crystalline shore, a figure could be seen, a black dot on the white sand. He wore a long black cloak, but the hood of it was pulled back, so his pale slightly-freckled face could be seen. His dark-blue eyes, ruffled dark hair and the loops of hair coiled around his ears made it clear who he was.

Owari was a still as a statue, not even twitching. He didn't move until he heard footsteps in the sand behind him and he half-turned towards the noise maker. This person was dressed in dark colours too, black jeans and an indigo hoodie, but his face was hidden by the hood. But anyone who lived in Olivine would know this person simply by his stature, his gait or (in Owari's case) his scent. The blue light encased within the stranger's body was unmistakable too.

"Finally" he breathed "I didn't think you'd ever find me."

The stranger shook his head lightly, allowing the hood to fall behind his neck, revealing sandy-blond hair, glistening green eyes and a tanned youthful face with a darkened expression upon it.

"You didn't exactly make it easy, Owari" was the stranger's reply, eyes locked on Owari's cool-as-a-cucumber form.

"I don't tend to give myself away without one earning an audience" Owari now frowned "Sorry, I don't know your name this time. I should've done more research. I take it you're not going by Changhyi anymore."

"No, I have never been called Changhyi" the stranger grunted "Most call me Helio. Helio Primo"

"Helio - sun" Owari's eyes trailed from Helio's sandy-blond hair to the star-speckled sky "I suppose it works."

"What works?!" Helio demanded.

But instead of answering, Owari asked another question:"Do you have any friends?"

"Of course I do!" Helio shot back.

"Name them."

"What? Oh fine! Jake, Callum, Lucy, Devon..."

"Laura?"

Helio flinched at the name.

Owari smiled. "Oh, so I got it right this time. No more double-barrel names."

"Shut up!" Helio spat.

Owari recoiled at the violent reaction. "Why, something happen to her?"

Helio looked away with a hiss. "She moved away. To Blackthorn City."

"Oh" Owari nodded "Don't worry, you'll find her again. You always do."

"What do you mean?" Helio blinked "And why did you need to see me, whoever you are?"

He removed from the front slip-pocket of his hoodie a wad of pieces of card, each one written an instruction with pale-blue pen and signed with the name 'Owari'. The one on top, the most recent one, read:

**Olivine Beach. Full moon. Meet. ~Owari~**

"You actually followed them?" Owari raised an eyebrow "You've never followed them before. I practically stuck the last clues on Solomon's forehead and he didn't listen. I had to physically appear before him and then had to remove his memories because I almost created an imbalance. Oh, you have to remind me of that, by the way."

Helio didn't understand but made a mental reminder of the little speech just spoken.

"You talk about me like we've met before" he commented "But this is the first time I've met you face-to-face."

"You no" Owari nodded, almost sadly "But a part of you I..." He trailed off. Then a distressed look came over his features. "ARGH!"

With a yowl of anger, he kicked a lump of sand into the sea, shattering in mid-air before plopping as little chunks into the calm waters. Helio jumped back at the sudden burst or anger but didn't say anything.

"Lord Arceus! I am so sick of repeating myself!" Owari ranted and raged, glaring at the moon and sea "Every time I visit my best friend, he just stares at me blankly because no matter what I try he doesn't recognise me! And he doesn't stand of chance of recognising me because after every meeting I have to forcibly remove his memories of me! I hate this! You and Clara will always be together, but what about me?! My own best friend who I've known since I was nine doesn't know me! It's torture! Every time I see you it tortures me like someone's shoved a knife through my gut! I can't bare it any more! Not in your last life!"

He took a deep breath after this outburst, as if he was drained. Helio just stared at him, wondering whether all this angry energy had come from and wondering if he should say something.

"I'm sorry" Owari apologised with a sigh "I needed to get that out of me. It's just, this is your last life, I had to see you one last time." He looked up at Helio "I won't erase your memories this time. I'll lock them away; that way when the time comes you can find me." He shook his head "Forget that reminder. Have a happy last life Hajime. I won't forget you."

PHe then turned and, in nothing but a rush of warm wind, he was gone.

Without any explanation why, Helio collapsed in the sand.

That was how he was found the next morning. People asked him what happened, but all he could say was:

"I met someone. A friend, I think."

* * *

><p>Kellyn let out a sigh. His mind was still spinning from the craziness of the dreams he had just had, but he was oddly relaxed. He was lying on his side, the sea beating against the shore to his left. His head was on someone's lap and the same person, Kellyn was guessing it was Starlight, was soothingly running a hand through his hair. It helped the headache go away. Giving a content sigh, he didn't bother to open his eyes before sleep took him again, this time giving him normal dreams.<p>

* * *

><p>"A fifth life huh?"<p>

Owari swayed back and forth at the edge of the clifftop, ignoring the banter of the troublesome students playing arm wrestling on the grass behind him. The precarious position he was in could result in a potentially fatal fall, but he knew he could vanish from this world before he snapped his neck. If death was even a possibility for him. He just hoped when he teleported he wouldn't end up in Vietnam again; they must have wanted posters up for him now. But Mexico was out of the question too. And it might be best if he stayed away from Mozambique as well. And Argentina. And Pakistan. And Ukraine...

...Come to think of it, he was running out of countries he could actually go to without getting shot on the spot.

"I might want to avoid that world, period" Owari decided out loud "Of course, knowing my luck I'll end up there anyways."

He sighed and rolled his eyes. He softened again when he looked back at the three on the beach. He couldn't help but remember three others who sat on the shore of a lake like these three. Only back then, Hajime's pride would have never let him fall asleep with his head on someone's lap.

'_But those days are gone now_' Owari reminded himself '_I'm no longer a part of Hajime's future_.'

He slid the yellow raindrop bracelet Clara had made him off his wrist. Holding up to the fading sunlight, he smiled.

"Go" he whispered "I was never meant to keep you. Go to the one you need."

As if it had heard him, the bracelet faded out of his hand. Down on the beach, Starlight remained completely still, no indication anything had happened to him. Owari pursed his lips.

"Interesting" he muttered "And I thought..." He looked up at the sky pensively for a few moments. Then he looked at the three again and smiled. "So, I see you found your Clara again, Hajime."

* * *

><p>Kate smiled sweetly as she ran a hand through Kellyn's hair. He always fell asleep when the three of them came down here, and her lap was probably more comfortable than the hard ground.<p>

"He's so peaceful" she commented.

"With you of all people doing that, I can't imagine why" Starlight teased them.

Kate frowned and wanted to smack him on the arm, but that would involve moving Kellyn and she couldn't bring herself to that.

"Do you think he minds?" she asked.

Starlight chuckled. "Trust me Kate, he _really_ doesn't mind."

"You saw what I did to Keith the other day. That was a warning."

"So you really are more violent than your boyfriend figures."

"Shut up, Muppet!"

"Yes, of course that proves your point."

* * *

><p>"Starlight, Kate and Kellyn. The future's in your hands now. The three of <em>us<em> might be gone physically, but we're still there in spirit. Keep our spirits alive. I know you can do it. From beginning to end. From hajime to owari."

**An unbreakable connection.**


	28. Prank War!

**"****Your girlfriend is pure evil."**

**"****I was in the SHOWER, for Arceus' sake! The SHOWER!"**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Twenty-Eight - Prank war!**

Kellyn had a strange feeling when he woke. He wasn't sure what it was. It wasn't that Luna wasn't by his side when he woke up; it was a Saturday so he had probably slept in. But something was wrong in the world, an unnatural shift in the atmosphere.

'_Is it Valentine Day_?' Kellyn thought '_No, that was last week. Ugh, that was a nightmare_! _All of Liam's fan-mail from back home_! _And Starlight and Keith were harassing me about something. Come to think about it, same thing was happening to Kate with Rhythmi. I never wanna go through any of that again_!'

Deciding to worry about the weirdness later (it would probably smash him in the face - literally! - the second he stepped outside the door anyway), he put on some random clothes from yesterday evening before jumping down from his bunk and leaving the Boys' dorm. Somewhere in his brain, he registered it was very quiet, but it was really too soon after waking up for him to be bothered by this. He crossed the courtyard, heading for the cafeteria, and opened the front door. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation he found.

For some reason, above a massive mud-patch, a net had been dropped by a crane-like contraption. And currently flailing around in said mud-patch beneath the net was Nick, Liam, Starlight, Ponte and Keith. Keith looked up and saw Kellyn and may have said something, but the words were drowned out by the mud. He stopped trying to speak when Liam fell on top of him.

"Do I want to know?"

Kellyn looked over his shoulder and saw Isaac standing there. He'd probably been in the library since the wee hours of the morning. Kellyn shook his head. Just as he did, Nick raised his head and bellowed:

"BECS!"

'_Why would Becs do this_?' Kellyn thought with a blink of surprise '_I mean she doesn't prank people often...ohhhh. Please don't tell me it's today._'

Isaac appeared to have come to the same realisation.

"It's February 20th isn't it?" he sighed.

Kellyn nodded in resignation.

**Prank war day**

"I guessed" Isaac sighed "The stupidest boys vs. girls feud ever." He shook his head "I'm not having anything to do with this."

Kellyn agreed with him. But that probably wasn't going to stop the others.

* * *

><p>"Ugh!... I can still taste the mud in my mouth!" Liam shouted later when the boys had a 'secret meeting' in the courtyard.<p>

"Same here!" Nick groaned.

"Your girlfriend is pure evil, Ponte!" Keith growled.

"She's not my girlfriend" Ponte blinked, rather confused by that statement. So he and Becs did their homework together, so what?

"But what can we do to get them back...?" Nick tapped his chin with his forefinger, thinking deeply.

"Wake them up!" Keith grinned. The boys looked at him, confused. "We get something that makes a loud noise, like airhorns or megaphones, put it next to their ears and make a loud sound, therefore waking them up and deafening them for about an hour, making them be unable to hear each other or anyone for that time!"

The other guys grinned.

Keith was in charge of pranking Rhythmi. Liam had Verity and Tamie, who shared a bunkbed. Nick had Sami. Starlight had Kate. And poor poor Ponte had been given Becs. And he had been given merely a saucepan and a hammer to defend himself against pure evil.

When it was his turn, he was going in last, Ponte crept into the common room where Becs was for some reason sleeping on the sofa. He was about to do his part of the prank when Becs' arm shot forward and grabbed his wrist.

"Don't even think about it!" she whispered.

Now, you see, Ponte quite liked his head being in one piece, so he stopped there.

"Please don't kill me!" he meeped, holding his hands up in surrender "I'm only doing what the others say! They'll ostracise me otherwise!"

Becs glared at him for a long time (so long Ponte almost peed his pants twice), but eventually said: "Fine. I'll play along with your little game."

Sighing with relief, Ponte was about to bang his saucepan and hammer together when Becs grabbed his hammer hand and gave him the icy glare of evil and doom as she hissed: "But you will _not_ bang that or you _will_ loose your head in a very violent and painful manner."

Ponte gulped.

Just then, a loud racket boomed from inside the girls' dorm: a mixture of horns and hammers and trumpets and cymbals and the like. A second after it had finished, Keith, Liam, Nick and Starlight burst out of the dorm and down the steps into the courtyard in a heap of laughter. Ponte was left blinking in their dust as five bleary figures slumped out of the girls' dorm for the second time that day (albeit not at five in the morning this time)

"I have this strange pounding in my ear!" Rhythmi shouted.

"What?! I can't hear you! I have this strange pounding in my ear!" Verity then shouted.

"SPEAK UP YOU TWO!" Sami shouted. Kate and Tamie were just staring at each other and mouthing...something.

The five of them all looked at the sofa. Or, more specifically, at Becs. The tomboy groaned loudly and pressed her hands over her ears, complaining: "What's going on?! Why do I have this weird pounding in my ear?!"

That was when the glares all turned to Ponte - and the hammer and saucepan in his hands.

"You know, you probably would've been better off if they just ostracised you" Becs murmured to him.

Ponte could only nervously nod in agreement.

* * *

><p>"Sami! Rhythmi! Come here!" Verity shouted to her comrades across the common room.<p>

They came over to her, still tending their ears after the incident half-an-hour earlier.

"What, Verity? We wer trying to think of a way to get back at the boys!" Rhythmi hissed.

Verity just motioned for them to follow her into the girls' dorm.

"Okay, what is this about?" Sami questioned.

Verity just walked over to her bed, the two of them following her. She reached under her bottom bunk and pulled out their latest prank in a shoebox.

"Cupcakes? How can we prank the boys with them?" Rhythmi asked.

Verity grinned. "The ones without milk-chocolate buttons are cupcakes made with chocolate. The ones _with_ milk-chocolate buttons are cupcakes made with:"

She looked like she expected Rhythmi to finished for her, but the blonde just looked clueless.

"OH~!" Sami exclaimed, realising the plan "Genius!"

Rhythmi quickly caught on and the three burst out laughing, then took the shoebox of 'treats' into the common room. Seeing a confrontation coming, Kellyn got the heck outta there.

"Hey guys! I bought cupcakes for us all! Sami and Rhythmi told me that they don't like milk-chocolate buttons, and the others don't like cupcakes, so you guys have the ones that _do_ have them!" Verity smiled.

The boys easily fell into her evil trap. They grabbed their 'chocolate' cupcakes and took a bite into them. Verity, Sami and Rhythmi grabbed their chocolate cupcakes. Keith, Liam, Nick and Starlight grimaced at the taste. Ponte though was still eating his - with a grin no less!

"These ain't half bad!" Ponte grinned.

Everyone just stared at him.

"You do know that what you are eating is a _marmite_ cupcake, Ponte?" Sami asked.

Ponte nodded then completely demolished his snack.

The others gawped.

A few moments later, the other four boys went green in the face and all raced for the bathroom.

* * *

><p>After all the chaos, Tamie decided to take a shower. She ran her shampoo-covered fingers through her brown hair, grey eyes lightly closed as she sighed at the feeling of warm water washing over her skin.<p>

Finishing up, she turned the shower off and squinted through the steam. After drying herself off with a towel, she patted the floor to try and locate her clothes. Eventually she found something, but it didn't feel like her jumper. Holding the clothing up, Tamie realised it was a skimpy pink dress with many silk bows and ribbons on it. Her clothes were nowhere to be seen. Her face screwed up in anger.

"KEITH! You pervert! I was in the SHOWER, for Arceus' sake! The SHOWER!"

* * *

><p>"So... Sami... Why did you drag me here?" Tamie asked, sounding confused. Kate was right behind her.<p>

"Our comeback for your 'clothing incident'!"

"So what are you doing?"

"Salt!"

"Salt?"

Sami sighed - being a pranking queen was so hard when you have such failures as your minions. "The boys like eating stroganoff for lunch on Saturday lunches - and they flavour it with sugar. We take the sugar off of the boys' table and put it on our table!"

"So when they ask for the sugar..."

"We give 'em the salt!" Sami and Tamie yelled at the same time before bursting out laughing.

Rhythmi walked into the kitchen then to see what all the ruckus was about and Sami immediately told her the plan.

"Oh Latios, they are _not_ gonna like that! _Not_ with a captial N and a crossed T! You're plain evil, Sami!" Rhythmi smirked.

"Aren't I just?! Come on, help me 'ere Kate!"

"A-Alright" Kate was shifting from foot to foot nervously.

"You don't want Kellyn to get pranked?" Tamie teased.

Kate shook her head. "No, not that. It's fine. Kellyn and Starlight don't like stroganoff anyway."

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile...<strong>

Becs and Verity were playing a game of two-man football. They were just about to leave and locate the other girls to be briefed on the latest prank when Verity's phone rang. She picked it up from where it was buried beneath her jumper and answered the call.

"Hello?"

A low male voice began to drone out:

"All the people you care about will die today, if you do not place a sacrificial offering on..."

"PREFERABLY CHOCOLATE!"

"...yes, you must place said offering on the Pledge Stone by sunhigh or all those you care about will perish beneath the noonday sun."

"Yes, I understand, I am so scared" Verity deadpanned "And I know it's you calling LIAM because your caller ID comes up on my phone! Good job idiot!"

"...DAMMIT NICK! YOU SAID THIS WOULD WORK!"

"Don't swear! It's bad in the eyes of Arceus."

"Oh, well, I guess he's going to hate it when I do THIS!"

After that, Liam launched into a tirade of curses with Nick trying to stop him and Keith's voice heard in the background trying to calm them both down. Rolling her eyes, Verity hung up.

"What was that about?" Becs blinked.

Verity shrugged. "Just Liam and Nick's failed attempt at a prank."

* * *

><p>Starlight was sitting outside the school building, reading a book. His back was against the brick wall of the school building and Shadow was at his side. He was just getting to the good bit of his book when...<p>

SPLOOSH!

"AARRRGGHHHH!"

"UMBREEEEEEE!"

Starlight glared through his wet bangs and stared miserably at his soaking book and clothes. Shadow was on his paws and growling, water drip drip dripping from his fur and nose. Furiously, Starlight whipped his head around and saw a shadow jump down from the roof to the other side of the school. He shook his fist.

"I'll get you back for this Tamie!"

* * *

><p>The girls were meeting in their dorm to discuss the next prank.<p>

"Come on Kate! You're late!" Rhythmi tapped her foot as Kate hurried into the dorm room.

"Sorry!" she apologised, panting.

"There's a chair" Sami pushed a cushioned chair forward so Kate knew which one she was talking about.

Kate plonked herself down in the chair, only for it to make a very rude noise.

"Ugh! Seriously Kate!" Tamie wafted her hand in front of her nose.

"It wasn't me!" Kate squeaked, waving her arms out in front of her in panic "Honest!"

"Stand up" Becs ordered.

Kate did so immediately.

Striding over, Becs dug her hand under the cushion and removed a whoopie cushion with a name on it.

"Okay" she held the whoopie cushion up "HOW did Keith get into the girls' dorm?"

* * *

><p><strong>That lunch...<strong>

"Pass the sugar!" Liam bellowed across the cafeteria from the boys' table.

Sami smirked and pointed towards Kate then the salt that they had prepared earlier. She nodded, picked it up and went over to the boys' table.

"Sorry, but we wanted first dibs on the stroganoff today. So, there you go!"

Kate then skipped over to the girls' table and they waited for the boys' reaction. Starlight had gone pale, evidently guessing what was happening, but decided to thoughtfully not tell the others. Kellyn was a little confused, but didn't give anything away.

A few minutes later, the four perpetrato—...well, _girls_ responsible for the prank were backed up against the white cafeteria wallpaper with the five victi—...er, I mean, _boys_ surrounding them.

"Salt! Seriously?!" Keith snapped, still looking like he wanted to throw up whatever amount of the concoction had gone down his throat before he noticed the horrendous taste _really_ badly.

"Yep! Courtesy of Sami!" Rhythmi grinned.

Sami shook her head then burst out laughing. Knowing they wouldn't massacre her if one of their own kind was on the line, she hastily grabbed Nick and pulled him in the way of the would-be attack on her life. Watching the four other boys' disappointed reactions and listening to their defeated groans as they walked away, the girls literally roared with laughter. Nick broke out of Sami's grip then.

"You don't mess with a man's stomach Sami! This means WAR!" he shouted, shaking his fist, before running off.

Meanwhile, Starlight looked across the nearly empty boys' table at Kellyn. "What just happened?"

Kellyn shrugged.

**I dunno. How's your pasta?**

* * *

><p>After lunch, Rhythmi and Tamie decided it was necessary to put on another set of jumpers, since they had been wearing these ones for (le gasp!) <em>half a day<em>!

As she was putting on her jumper, Rhythmi frowned as she struggled to put her arms through the sleeves. She tried repeatedly, until with an almighty tear her right hand broke through. As she slipped the jumper on over her head, the second sleeve ripped and her left hand broke free. The froze deepened as Rhythmi looked over at Tamie, who had the same problem. Two rips later, the dark-brunette's hands came free. Now deeply suspicious, Rhythmi investigated one of her sleeves and saw a few red-coloured strands. She then looked at the other sleeve and saw the same thing.

Tamie then reported finding red strands in her sleeves too. Rhythmi tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Did someone sew our sleeves shut?"

Little did they know, Nick was just outside the door, chuckling as he played with a reel of red string between his fingers.

"So my plans suck, do they Liam?"

* * *

><p>Liam made his way to the bathroom sink, trying to fully wake himself up after his afternoon nap; Keith was still asleep. Sighing, Liam ran a hand through his blond hair...<p>

...or he didn't.

"What the?" he wondered.

He looked in the mirror and saw all his lovely hair replaced by a horribly rushed buzz cut. His jaw dropped in horror, then he went red with rage.

"SAMI!"

* * *

><p>Liam then decided to get his own back at the mischievous light-brunette. Sami had been told to go back to the dorm to get a her prank book. But when she went to open the girls' dorm's door, she found the handle was horribly sticky.<p>

"Oh yuck!" she groaned.

Quickly, she ran to the bathroom to wash her hands, only to be caught-out by the oldest trick in the book. On top of the door was a bucket of water. But not just any water - hot soapy water.

"GAH! Lord Arceus! MY EYES! GAAAAHH!"

Stumbling over to the sink, Sami grumbled as she tried to find a flannel to wash the soap out of her eyes. Unable to locate one, she had to dunk her head into a partially filled-with-water sink and wait for the pain to pass.

Thirty seconds later, the nightmare was over and Sami was able to think right again.

In order to wash the stickiness off her hands, she then tried to find some soap, but the soap bar was missing as well as the flannel. Seeing no other option, Sami sighed and reluctantly decided to ask for someone else's opinion on something. Unfortunately, the only one in the common room was Liam, playing some sort of video game on the TV. Sami giggled at the Marine-style buzz cut on the once-blond's head. That would teach Liam never to have an afternoon nap! She had been planning on doing the same thing to Keith, but she couldn't bear to ruin his beautiful ginger hair. Never mind, Keith would get his prank later, all down to the genius of an exploding apple pie.

"Hey Liam?" Sami asked, making him turn around in his seat "Have you seen the flannel and soap?"

"Oh yeah" he nodded "Keith used them for a prank. They're currently in the cafeteria freezer."

Blinking in confusion, Sami was pretty surprised, but she didn't say anything. Instead she made her way to the cafeteria kitchen. She bent down to open the freezer...

...and was nailed in the face by a can of tomato soup.

"I didn't fall for that" she muttered, orange liquid dripping off her nose onto the floor "I didn't fall for that. I didn't."

* * *

><p>Kellyn, whilst this was all going on, had been hiding in the piano room in the basement with Luna, drawing random doodles and other stuff that would pleasurably pass the time.<p>

"**_That does NOT look like me_**!"

Er...about the pleasurably bit...

'_Stop insulting my artistic talent Luna_! _See, that's your body, your head, your ears, those are your legs and those are your tails_.'

"**_That's a box on top of a big box with some rectangles and wiggly lines coming out of it_**! **_It looks like a Mareep being disemboweled_**!"

'_That's a lovely comparison to make. You and a disemboweled Mareep._'

"**_I can't wait to see the result of your art tests_**! **_Fs across the board_**!"

'_Yeah sure. Whatever you say, Miss Van Gogh_.'

Rubbing the back of his neck, Kellyn let out a sigh. Luna looked up at him.

"**_What's the problem now, Mr Picasso_**?"

'_I'm thirsty, that's all. Do you think you could_...?'

"**_Whoa whoa whoa_**! **_A not-so-spiritual guide I may be, but I draw the line at taps_**!"

Sighing, Kellyn decided to risk it and, setting his doodling notepad to the side, got to his feet. Reluctantly, he left the room and headed up the basement steps.

"**_GOOD LUCK_**! **_YOU'RE GONNA NEED IT_**!"

Yep, the ever thoughtfulness of Luna.

As he approached the top of the stairs, Kellyn crouched down, out of sight, watching for any prank or Kincaid. He wasn't sure which would be worse to run into..

...no scratch that, Kincaid would be much scarier.

In the end Kellyn saw nothing, and decided the best he could do was hope for the best and run like a bat out of hell. He paused for a second, scrapping one of his boots against the concrete steps, and then bolted. He crossed the courtyard in all of four seconds, and so far nothing had happened. And nothing continued to happen...that is, until he opened the door to go outside.

"KELLYN LOOK OUT!" Kate's voice screamed somewhere to the right.

Kellyn looked up to see balloons floating above his head.

'_No, not floating, falling...WATER BOMBS_!'

Kellyn leapt back, landing on his rear inside the courtyard, but he wasn't fast enough. One of the falling balloons hit his head and shattered upon impact. Cold water splashed down from Kellyn's head onto his shoulders, thoroughly soaking and freezing him; the remnants of the balloon lying on top of his flattened hair.

"Thanks Kellyn!"

Four boy-shaped figures jumped quite literally over the top of Kellyn and disappeared through the de-rigged door outside. All the while, he heard both male and female laughter at his expense. Growling slightly, he grabbed the balloon remnants and threw them onto the ground, water dripping from his nose.

'_Alright_! _That's it_! _I've had it_!'

* * *

><p>Some time later, the male prankers were in common room. They had set up a prank in the bathroom and were now just chilling out with Nick's stereo. Currently, Liam and Ponte were bickering over which CD to put on: Pop Party or The Best Of Country And Western respectively.<p>

"Hey Keith" Nick poked said ginger's shoulder, sitting on the sofa's armrest "Why was Sami walking around covered in orange juice?"

"It was actually tomato soup" Keith corrected "Liam pranked her with it." Starlight winced.

"Ouch" Nick agreed "He must be really mad about his hair."

"I heard him saying something about a wig" Starlight spoke up.

"Seriously?" Nick blinked "I think tomato soup goes too far though. That's for Stunktank situations only, otherwise it's just plain mean."

"Tell that to the marines" Keith grunted.

He jerked his head in the direction of Liam and Ponte. They had apparently settled on a CD and had inserted the disc. Peaceful silence ensued, only broke by the sound of gears working inside the stereo...

...Then they all cover their ears in pain as rock music blared out of the speakers.

"PONTE! TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF! MY EARS ARE DYING!"

"IT'S TOO LOUD! TURN IT OFF, PONTE! OH, MY EARDRUMS!"

"AAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"TURN THE DAMN THING OFF, PONTE!"

"I'M TRYING! I'M TRYING!"

Finally Ponte stopped the device. Everyone let out a gasp of relief and removed their nails from their ear pinnas. One of Starlight's was actually bleeding from the force of his nails and he tried to stop the bleeding with his handkerchief. It still stung though.

"Seriously Ponte, are you trying to deafen us?!" Liam folded his arms.

"Yeah, what's with that?!" Keith demanded.

"I'm sorry! It wasn't me! Honest!" Ponte held up his hands "It was supposed to be The Best Of Country And Western!"

Liam ejected the CD and frowned. "Which is why Becs' name is on the CD, of course."

Ponte blinked in confusion. "But that belongs in here."

He frowned, opening up the CD's real case. But that had a CD in belonging to Tamie. And that CD's case had one of Keith's CDs in. And so on and so forth.

"Okay, who mixed up the CDs?" Nick frowned.

"My money's on Kate" Keith held up two CD cases "Her's are the only CDs that haven't been touched."

There was a small silence here.

"I was wondering when she'd get involved" Nick muttered.

"What about Isaac?" Ponte suggested "He doesn't care about music so he wouldn't be bothered."

"Isaac's on our side though" Liam pointed out.

"I don't think Isaac's on any side" Starlight snorted, folding his arms and leaning back into the sofa.

Another silence.

"Well whoever did this, it doesn't matter" Keith jumped to his feet in a leader-ish way "But if they even dare touch my..."

"KEITH!"

Rhythmi came pounding up the steps, Becs and Sami at her side. Immediately, Becs strode over to the boys and picked poor Keith up by his collar.

"You're DEAD Dazuru!" she hissed "DEAD!"

"W-What did I do Jackson?!" he practically whimpered "Whatever it is, I blame Liam!"

He pointed frantically at Liam, who was frozen with terror at the sight of Becs ready to actually murder his friend.

"You guys can't be serious about this" Sami shook her head "Keith's not smart enough to set up illusions."

"Heh? What?" Keith blinked, not so afraid if not curious "What's this about illusions?"

Becs snorted and set him down again.

"Some lunatic, we _thought_, let a Haunter loose on the field" she explained begrudgingly "It wasn't until we'd ran ourselves silly we realised it was just an illusion."

The boys blinked. Their toilet-papered bathroom seemed a bit trivial compared to that. But who would set up an illusion prank? Maybe the same person who changed all the CDs?

"FIRE!" Tamie's voice screamed from outside.

At the mention of fire, most of the room's occupants bolted downstairs. Starlight though just shook his head and lay down on the sofa, having had enough of this craziness. Besides, he had a feeling _he_ knew who the mystery pranker was.

* * *

><p>Outside, there was utter chaos. The boys and girls were all huddled in the centre of the field, staring at a wall of fire. The fire wall had now curved, blocking off almost all their exits.<p>

"TO THE ASCENSION SQUARE!" Sami screamed.

Everyone dashed in that direction, only to plummet into a rather deep hole covered with turf.

"What the?!" Keith spluttered "Have Team Rocket tried to take over Almia or something?!"

This comment was acknowledged by hysterical laughter from a female.

"Who's up there?!" Verity demanded.

In the light of the day at the top of the hole, three human shadows, two slightly bigger and further back than the third, could be seen; two smaller Pokémon-shaped shadows were at the side.

"Is that the sound of defeated ones I hear?" a male voice asked, apparently grinning.

"It speaks to me loud and clear!" a female voice joined in.

"On the wind!"

"Past the stars!"

"In your ear!" the two voices said in unison.

"Peon! Peon!"

"Umbree!"

An excited squeak followed this.

"Ah! Cut it out will ya!" Liam complained, covering his ears with his palms "We know it's you, the Traitorous Trio!"

"Yeah!" Tamie shot back at them "Starlight, Kate, Kellyn!"

The three shadows were washed over with light, allowing their identities to be confirmed. Shadow and Luna were now having a rather humorous conversation, but only Kellyn and Starlight could translate and they were a bit preoccupied at the moment.

"I'll get you back for this, illusionist!" Keith hissed, shaking his fist.

Kellyn stuck his tongue out at him and left the hole's edge, Starlight and Kate, plus the Pokémon, soon following.

"Hey! Wait! You can't just leave us here!" Sami complained "GET US OUT OF HERE!"

The other caught-ones joined in, but the trio ignored them.

"Thank for letting me join in on that!" Kate beamed "It was worth it just to see the looks on their faces!"

"Yeah" Starlight agreed "I was getting sick of those guys anyway." Kellyn shrugged.

**It's fine. I needed the help. And I wasn't going to ask to prank with anyone but you two**.

"Ah! That's so sweet Kelly!" Kate squealed.

Just before she skipped back to the school building, she stunned Kellyn by giving him a peck on the cheek. She was gone before he could do so much as blush.

"**_Ah great, here we go_**" Luna sighed, seeing Kellyn freeze, his jaw drop and his blue-green eyes widen in comparison to his tomato-red face.

Noticing the sure signs of a meltdown from Kellyn also, Starlight tried to change the subject.

"So, I guess that makes you 'Kellyn the King of Pranking' as well as 'Kellyn the King of Scrabble'" he joked.

That got Kellyn's mind back on track as the smaller boy nodded determinedly.

**Nobody water-balloons me and gets away with it!**


	29. Brothers Afar

**"I've got a great idea. Read the textbook!"**

**"****People just can't help but like ya."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Twenty-Nine - Brothers Afar**

"I'm serious guys, what is the natural habitat for a Spearow?!"

"Work it out yourself Keith!"

"Kate's right Keith. Maybe if you stayed awake in class you wouldn't have this problem."

"Grrr! Kel! Answer!"

**I've sworn not to hand out any school answers to you under the rules and legislations of the Keith Dazuru law**

"The what law?"

Keith blinked in confusion. He was lying on his stomach, doing his homework outside on the bank. It was the day after the prank war, and most of the school was determinedly staying away from the 'Traitorous Trio', but Keith had found a reason to bug them: homework.

"The Keith Dazuru Law of 2012, where in students are forbidden to give any school answers to anyone by the name of Keith Leo René Dazuru" Kate explained, grinning.

"What?" Keith blinked "And where did you get my middle names?"

"The register in the teacher's lounge" Starlight answered "Where did you think, René?"

Keith snorted and threw his discarded jumper at the silver-haired idiot's head. Kate laughed. Kellyn, who was also lying on his front, bashed his head off the ground.

"Great, now you've teased me, onto the important matters" Keith waved his hand "Spearow. Any ideas?"

"I've got a great idea" Kate smiled sweetly at him. Just as he was looking hopeful, Kate threw the textbook at his head "Read the textbook!"

Keith rolled his eyes. "Words of wisdom" he muttered, peeling the book off his face "Words of wisdom."

"Of course, what else?!" Kate shot him a pearly-white smile "Ten pence a useful thought, twenty pence a brilliant idea!"

Keith threw the textbook back at her, but that just made her laugh harder. If Kellyn could laugh, he no doubt would've.

"Alright, that's enough" Starlight shook his head with a chuckle "Kate, give Keith his textbook back. René, make use of it and read it in order to avoid your 24th detention this year."

"Stop calling me that" Keith muttered, grudgingly accepting the textbook back "And it's not been 24 detentions this year."

"Oh really?" Kate folded her arms "How many has it been then?"

"24" Keith repeated, making his companions rather confused "This month."

"Oh." Starlight and Kate shared a glance.

Kellyn smashed his head off the ground again - it was rather therapeutic when it came down to Keith.

Kate tapped him on the back of the head and he looked up at her. Using sign language she told him:

**_24! 24!_**

Kellyn clambered to his knees and signed back:

**_I expect it was to be more than that_**

Kate raised an eyebrow:-

**_He that bad?_**

Kellyn gave a sign language nod:-

**_He sleep in Maths last week again. Miss April not bother now._**

Kate rolled her eyes:-

**_Well, he is a spontaneous_** (she had to spell that out using the alaphabet) **_idiot._**

Kellyn chuckled:-

**_Agree._**

An angry half-hiss half-growl was backed up with an exercise book hitting Kellyn's head hard enough to knock him over. Dazed, it took Kellyn a few seconds to get his sight back and locate the one who had whacked him one. He was surprised to see Kate and Starlight staring in shock at Keith, who was storming off down the bank.

"Did he, did he just...?" Kate was stuttering.

"Er..." Which was apparently more than Starlight could get out.

'_Keith_? _What_?' Kellyn clambered to his feet '_Did he...did he understand what we were signing_?'

Ignoring Kate's stuttering and stammering and Starlight's 'er...'-ing, Kellyn made his way down the bank, only to find Keith had vanished.

'_Where'd he..._' Kellyn stopped, his eyes widening '_Is he seriously stupid enough to jump into a hole that he knows he can't get out of by himself_?..._oh who am I kidding, of course he is_.'

He walked over to the hole they had dug yesterday as part of the prank war and peered in. The sun was in such a position he could see the whole hole from where he was standing.

'..._Okay, maybe he has more common sense than we give him credit for_...'

Kellyn decided to try another technique, for fear of embarrassing himself further by being outsmarted by Keith again. He closed his eyes and tried to create a mental connection.

'_You don't have to let me in. Just let me find you._'

After a few seconds he found the link, only to be cut off by whoever it was who didn't like him being in Keith's mind...now he thought about it, it might be a good thing he didn't spent too much time in Keith's mind - who knew what damaging waves of Keith-ness were in there!

Shaking his head to get these strange thoughts out of his head, he made his way to where he had caught the connection. He went down the steps as if to leave the school and then turned left, where he knew there was a little cave. Near the back of this cave was a small fire, which Keith was sitting near, warming his hands.

'_How did he start a fire so quickly_?' was Kellyn's first thought, but he pushed the thought away when he saw Keith's face was damp '_Whoa whoa whoa_! _When since did Keith cry_?!'

Trying not to scare the ginger boy, Kellyn sat on the opposite side of the fire, the crunching of dirt making Keith look up. Taking a short breath, Kellyn decided it was now or never. He signed:

**_Do you know?_**

Keith looked puzzled for a second, but then he gave a sign language nod. Kellyn gave a small sigh of relief.

'_He does understand_!' he almost grinned to himself in triumph '_But, why would Keith know sign language_? _He barely knows English_!'

**_Why do you know?_**

Keith didn't answer, his gaze transferring to the fire. Finally he responded:

"Lind needed to know. So so did I."

'_Who's Lind again_? _Oh, his little brother_! _Wait, what does that have to do with it_?'

Kellyn asked that through sign language, but after a minute or two it became apparent Keith wasn't paying any attention and/or didn't want Kellyn to know. So the brunet went down a different route.

**_Are you okay?_**

Simple sentences were the way forward for now.

"Uh-huh." And Keith couldn't even manage that apparently.

**_Why are you crying?_**

Keith gave a sigh.

"You're not going to leave me alone, are you?" he sighed.

Kellyn shook his head.

Keith turned his eyes towards the ceiling "You don't want to know. Just a silly sob-story."

**_I do want to know!_**

Keith stared at him queerly. Didn't Keith understand?! He did want to know! He wanted to know every silly detail - that was what friends were for, right?!

"You're good at getting what you want" Keith commented. Kellyn blinked, not understanding "You just look at them with those innocent little eyes of yours and they all melt at your feet." He smirked ever so slightly "Alright. I'll tell ya. Better you than Blabber-Mouth Rhythmi." He sat up a bit straighter "Well, I suppose this is as good a place to start as any."

He removed a slip of paper from his back pocket and held it out to Kellyn, dangerous close to the flames. When Kellyn took it and examined it, he realised it was a photo. It depicted Keith, probably about nine, sitting under a large tree with his arm around the shoulders of a frail dark-haired boy of about six-years-old.

'_That must be Lind_' Kellyn realised '_He looks just like Keith_.'

A smile worked its way onto Kellyn's face at that thought.

"Yeah, that's my little brother" Keith actually looked very calm for once in his life, as if this was a subject he liked thinking about "Linwood Evan Max Dazuru. The kid no one could hate. Dad used to say when he was happy his smile lit up the room."

'_Yup, definitely related to Keith_' Kellyn just stopped himself from chuckling.

Keith's face fell ever so slightly, and Kellyn couldn't help but wonder what was wrong.

"Ever since Lind was a kid, he wasn't the most healthy child. He was...sickly, ya know. Mum didn't like him leaving the house, and when he did he was never able to connect with other kids..."

* * *

><p>A little strawberry-blonde-haired girl with pigtails was picking flowers in the Vienforest. She wore a pretty pink and white dress with some orange hints to it and had a daisy in her hair. She was the picture of a perfect little princess.<p>

"Hello."

The girl spun around and saw a boy behind her. She vaguely knew this boy - Lind Dazuru - the boy who didn't leave his house very often and hardly ever left Pueltown. So it was very much a surprise to see him here. But this didn't matter to the girl - to her this was a new friend to play with.

"Hello!" she giggled "I'm Camille!"

"Hello!" the boy repeated in the exact same tone as Camille, as if that factor was very important "I'm Cami..." he stopped, frowned and shook a smile back onto his face "I'm Lind!"

"I'm five!" Camille told him with a giggle, holding up five fingers to reinforce her age.

"I'm five!" Lind copied her exactly.

It didn't occur to Camille that Lind was copying her because he didn't know how it was normal for kids his age to act. To her, he was just another funny kid to play with.

"You're funny!" she giggled.

"You're funny!" was the immediate reply. Camille folded her arms and turned away from him.

"I'm not funny, you are!" she pouted.

"I'm not funny, you are!" Sure enough, Lind had copied her.

This set Camille off laughing again. Lind laughed too, looking over his shoulder to make sure he was copying her exactly.

"I'm picking flowers!" she told him, spinning around and holding the flowers she had picked out towards him with both hands "See!"

Lind moved his hand as if to take them from her, but then stopped and withdrew it nervously. He squatted down and began picking flowers like he had seen Camille do.

"No! No!" She grabbed his wrist and shook her head frantically "Not here! There are better flowers to pick over there!"

She waved her arm in the vague direction of the river. Seeing as she wasn't telling him off, Lind relaxed into a smile again.

"Come on!" Camille grabbed both his hands and dragged him to his feet and over to the better patch of flowers.

They spent what could only be clarified as 'a long time' picking flowers, before the activity degenerated into tag. As they ran around the Vienforest like lunatics, Camille noticed Lind was slowly down a lot and his skin had gone very white. Finally, she turned around and noticed Lind was wobbling as he walked. Just as she was about to ask what was wrong, he stopped completely, his eyes closing as he fell backwards. Before he could hit the ground though, someone was there in an instant and caught him by his shoulders.

Camille remembered Keith, Lind's older brother, because he was always stopping his little brother from joining the other kids in fun stuff - he said it was too much for Lind.

Keith shot her a smile before scooping Lind up in his arms and carrying him back towards the town. Camille watched him leave, but once she got over the shock she waved her arm above her head in goodbye.

* * *

><p>"...I suppose, I never really let him meet other kids though" Keith shifted uncomfortably.<p>

Kellyn frowned.

**_He not play with kids?_**

"No" Keith shook his head "He was always so sick, I thought it was too dangerous. I know I was harsh on him, but with Mum and Dad at work all day, someone needed to watch out for him. He would collapse if he even got the slightest bit tired. We all thought it was just a minor issue, it would go away when he got older. But, it never did..."

* * *

><p>"Keith! Keith! Look at me! Look at me!"<p>

Keith, who had been chasing an flock of Wingulls away from his sandwich only to loose it to a Pelipepper, looked up at the top of the harbour wall. Several metres off the ground, seven-year-old Lind was walking dangerous close to the edge, his arms held out like aeroplane wings and a huge grin on his face. Alarmed, Keith dashed to the base of the wall, worry laced in his eyes.

"Lind! Get down from there!" he hissed "You could fall!"

But Lind didn't listen to him, like little brothers seldom do. He just kept wobbling innocently along the edge of the harbour wall whilst Keith was sweating cartoon bullets down below. The bullets turned into waterfalls as Lind began to grow faint and sway. Eventually, with one big gasp of air, he plummeted. Keith yelped and stuck out his arms to catch his brother. The force of Lind landing in his arms dragged him to the ground, scrapping his knees against the concrete, but his brother didn't touch the ground.

"Lind!" Keith gently set his brother on the ground, lightly slapping his cheek to rouse him "Lind wake up!"

Lind groaned, coughed, and fell against his brother's chest. Keith sighed and wrapped his arms around him, running a hand through his tuffy black hair.

"You shouldn't have been up there!" Keith hissed "You could've got really hurt!"

"But you do it all the time" Lind pointed out. But there was no bitterness in his voice. Lind was too pure to be bitter.

"It's not the same" Keith sighed. He helped Lind get to his feet, kneeling in front of him and holding his shoulders in case he was in danger of collapsing again. "Just don't do it again, okay?"

"Hmm?" Lind wiped his eyes with his sleeve before nodding "Okay."

Keith relaxed and smiled, prompting Lind to smile too. "Good."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Was he always sick?<em>**

"Almost constantly" Keith sighed, prodding the fire with a stick. Apparently it didn't find Keith's story as interesting. With a flash of blue-white eyes, the fire grew again.

"Thanks" Keith grunted "Anyway, as I said before, things got worse as Lind got older. He spent most of last summer in Pueltown Children's Hospital. And I spent it with him..."

* * *

><p>It was a simple child's room in a hospital. The walls were decorated with stickers of Winnie the Pooh driving red racing cars, an oddity that made Keith frown for a second, and there were several boxes of toys in the corners. The whole place stank of bleach and Keith actually had to retreat into the hallway in shock before he could safely enter the room.<p>

Lind was sitting in the bed, wired up to one of those drip things. He was propped up against a mountain of tissue-thin pillows with his knees draw up near his chest. Resting against his knees was a sketch pad that he was drawing in, the bed littered with his previous creations. As he drew, his tongue was sticking out. Keith had told the eight-year-old many times before this looked ridiculous, but the fact of the matter was Lind couldn't concentrate with a pen or pencil in his hand without his tongue sticking out, so the tongue just _had_ to come out.

"What's up, Champ?" Keith grinned, coming to sit on a rather uncomfortable plastic seat next to the bed "I would've brought you flowers, but I'm not a sappy girl like Camille and Marley are."

Lind frowned. "Marley's not a girl. He's a guy."

"Really" Keith mock-frowned "Could've fooled me."

Lind laughed at the outrageous idea. Or at least, outrageous in his mind. In Keith's mind, boys just don't act _that_ _girly_.

"Keith look!" Keith was snapped out of his strange thoughts when he found a piece of paper shoved in his face "It's a Leafeon!"

Keith leant back and tried to focus on the green and brown...splodge. It was one of those drawings Mummy magnets to the fridge and two days later is covered by the latest shopping list.

"Er, nice job, Jr" Keith tried his best to grin, trying to distract himself by looking at the other drawings on the bed. One made him frown. It looked like Lind crossed with a Mankey was doing a dance beside a burning totem pole.

"Lind, what's this?" he asked, holding the drawing up.

Lind's face brightened up. "That's me and you Keith!" he grinned.

Keith frowned at the drawing. Had Lind exploded his head or something, or was there just no orange in the pack of crayons? He fondled the tip of one of his spikes with his finger.

But he was happy anyway. The drawing still meant a lot to him. Lind looked very happy in it (he couldn't see if the drawing him was happy because his face and his hair were both red due to the apparent absence of any pink crayon by this point so it looked like a bloodbath had gone on in the picture). Lind could always cheer anyone up, no matter how down they were.

"And what's this in the corner?"

"Oh! That's Captain Jack Sparrow on his ship bringing us a HUGE! chocolate pie and a jar of dirt!"

On the other hand, little kids would always be little kids.

* * *

><p>"That was the last time I saw him awake" Keith sighed "The next week I went back to school. And then, Lind took a turn for the worst." He hung his head "Christmas, I found out he'd slipped into a coma. He needed to be transferred to Saffron City hospital. That was where I spent winter break, and where I'll be going this half term."<p>

Kellyn frowned - he'd forgotten it was half term starting tomorrow. He was going down to Chicole Village to see his foster family.

"So, there you have it" Keith sighed "Keith's 'big secret'. So, go on. Go ahead and tell Liam and Becs and whoever the heck you want."

Kellyn frowned. Having had enough of sign language, he scrabbled for his notebook.

**Why would I do that?**

Keith blinked in confusion, staring at him.

"You're not gonna tell anyone?" he asked.

**Well, just Kate and Starlight, if that's OK. They won't tell anyone.**

"Yeah, sure, why not" Keith shrugged "Not like it really mat...ah!"

Keith broke off as Kellyn somehow bypassed the fire and wrapped him in a big hug. Keith was frozen to the spot, unsure of what to do. Sure Lind liked to glomp him at random moments, but this was different.

"Okay, dude, that's seriously not cool!" he carefully pushed Kellyn away.

Kellyn just sat back on his heels, folding his arms, and pouted. It wasn't an ordinary pout. It wasn't a 'I've been utterly defeated and now bow to your superiority' pout. It wasn't even a 'If I just sit here and look cute you'll forget about being angry and be nice to me' kinda pout. No, it was a 'Watch your back because as long as I sit like this and look cute I can force a knife into your gut without even touching you and no one will ever suspect it was me' kinda pout. It was the pout that scared the living daylights out of Keith. But he didn't wanna show that.

Keith slapped him on the back with a smile "People just can't help but like ya. Kate never stood a chance."

Kellyn gave him a rather confused look that made Keith roar with laughter.

"How oblivious can you get?!" he laughed "Go on, you go ahead. I'll be right after ya."

Shrugging, Kellyn got to his feet and left the little cave. Keith lay parallel to the fire, letting the heat wash over his body, his arms folded behind his head as a pillow. He sighed.

"Silly mute" he muttered "Silly, strange, crazy-eyed, clingy, mute." He smiled "Don't know what I'd do without ya though."

* * *

><p>Kellyn lay back against the hill, blades of grass snatching at his jumper of a darker shade of green. He nestled the back of his head in his linked fingers, his elbow close to his discarded yellow tie.<p>

Further down the bank, Starlight was lying on his front doing his homework now. His green jumper was tied around his waist and he had rather amusingly tied his tie around his head like a headband to keep his slight silver fringe out of his eyes. Kate was at the base of the hill, annoying Luna by tying ribbons into her fur.

Giving a small sigh, Kellyn closed his eyes and let his body go limp. As he dozed ever so slightly, a picture began to form behind his eyelids. It was blurry and grainy like and old photo, but still clear enough to make out. A teenage boy with midnight-blue hair and aqua eyes, pale skin littered with wiry scars. He was smiling, and that almost made Kellyn cry.

'_You're lucky Keith, you just don't know it. At least you __**have**__ your brother still._'

* * *

><p>Keith twirled the bouquet of flowers in his hand, the plastic crinkling, as he whistled his way down the hospital corridor. Some people smiled at him, others shook their head and began grumbling about him disrupting the peace. He ignored them though as he knocked on the door of Room 209.<p>

"Lo?!" he called.

"'Lo'? What kind of greeting is that?!"

Keith chuckled at the reply he got. He twisted the handle and entered the small room. It was predominately taken up by a child's hospital bed which was somewhat bordered by bleeping and buzzing machines. There were several seats around the room and an airy window as well as a table that was, at this moment, covered in wrapped presents. Dotted around the room were some colourful 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY!' balloons.

At this moment, tucking in the sheets of bed, was a brunette woman in a nurse's outfit.

"It's a new greeting from Almia" Keith answered the previous question "It means: 'Hello Sandra, now do you have any food 'cos I'm starvin!'"

The brunette woman laughed.

"There's a canteen down the hall" Sandra reminded him, moving to the other side of the bed, somehow squeezing between the machines "Of course, you know that. You're currently the best customer they've ever had. And you've visited three times in total I believe."

Keith threw back his head and guaffed at that.

"Well, I'll have to check it out - Kanto food rocks!" Keith grinned, looking at the bed "How is he?"

"Worn out I think" Sandra answered, now plumping the thin pillows "Mr Žitnik from Ward 2 came to see him, wanted to talk to someone his age. And it appears once he starts talking he doesn't like to stop, even if he gets no reply."

"Is that so" Keith smiled down at the boy on the bed "Well you can tell Ahi Žitnik to stop trying to influence my brother. I know what he babbles and it's never good."

Keith was well aware of the Orre-born leukaemia patient Ahi from Ward 2, the boy who seemed very attached to Keith's comatose brother.

"I will." Keith knew she was only joking when she promised that.

"Has he changed at all?" he asked.

Sandra shook her head and he gave a disappointed sigh.

"He'll come around soon" she promised, taking her leave "Talk to him."

"That's all I can ever do" Keith muttered somewhat bitterly. But as soon as the door clicked shut behind him, he brightened up and started acting more like himself.

"Hey Lind" he grinned "Happy B-day, man." He walked over to the table and put an over-excessively wrapped box on it. "Birthday present from Camille. She even got you pink wrapping paper." He prodded said wrapping paper and wrinkled his nose in distaste. "I'd get you something too, but you seem to be pretty well off. I suppose my charming personality will have to do."

He flashed Lind a dazzling smile. As ever, Lind was unresponsive. Keith sighed once again.

"Sorry I'm late, I got lost" he admitted "I had to spend an hour wandering around town before I worked out where this place was. It's a stupid city. All the streets are named alphabetically except for J Street. _Why_ is there no J Street?"

He knocked a present and caught it before it hit the ground, putting it back on the table again.

"I bought you flowers this time" he sighed, stuffing the flowers he had brought in a vase full of other flowers bouquets. One of them had wilted so he removed it and chucked it in the bin "I guess I'm as sappy as you say."

He came to sit down on a plastic chair by the bed, wedged in amongst the machines.

"Miss April made a quiz for us last Friday. You had to write down answers to random questions 'legibly' as fast as possible. Though that quiz wasn't really fair because if Kellyn knew the answer to a question we may as well have not attempted it. The guy's had like ten years of practice!"

Keith laughed to his own story and looked at Lind who, as ever, was unresponsive. The only sign he was alive was a the bleeping of the heart-monitor.

Keith sighed for the billionth time and, avoiding the wires all over the place, gently took his brother's hand, running the pale skin between his rough fingers.

"Wake up Lind."


	30. A name to be called by

**"I knew you would see things my way!"**

**"Lunick! Lunick is dead!"**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Thirty - A name to be called by**

"Hey! Kellyn! Hurry up will ya!"

Kellyn gave the bathroom door a kick with his boot, a way of telling Keith he'd be out in a minute. Arceus that guy was impatient!

"Kel! Come on!" Keith shouted, banging the door with his fists "Buck up will ya! Seriously! You'll end up spending another eight months in front of that mirror!"

'_Eight months_' Kellyn thought '_Eight months since Ranger School began_.'

He tried to work out what had changed in those eight months. He'd grown taller; still not as tall as Keith but tall enough to not seem drowned out by Rhythmi and Kate. His hair had turned darker, it was now a dark chocolate colour rather than chestnut-brown. And he was sure his hearing had become twice as sensitive because although everyone else had grown up, Keith was still acting and sounding like a two-year-old.

"Kel! Come on! Did you fall down the toilet or something?! Some of us have lives to be getting on with!"

Kellyn sighed as Keith put up yet another fight to get him to...well...do whatever Keith wanted him to come out and do. Giving a mental sigh, he rinsed his toothbrush and placed it in the pot with the others'. He opened the door...

...and then gave a gasp of pain and grasped his nose. Keith had apparently raised his fist to knock on the door, but Kellyn had opened it and his nose had taken the hit instead.

"Ah! Sorry!" Keith immediately apologised "It was an accident!"

Kellyn nodded and checked whether his nose was bleeding. When he was satisfied it wasn't he wrote Keith an irritated message:

**What do you want?**

"Well, I have a favour to ask you" Keith rubbed the back of his neck "You see, I've been hearing reports of the legendary Pokemon Celebi living in Almia, got it?"

Kellyn nodded, not understanding where this was going.

"And Celebi's supposed to live in forests" Keith continued "So I thought, why not our forest - here at Ranger School!"

**You're crazy**

"Crazy didn't stop Einstein" Keith put in "So, what do ya' say to you coming searching with me?"

It wasn't really a question, it was a command.

Kellyn sighed. Best get it over with.

**Alright, fine. But this was your idea.**

"I knew you would see things my way!" Keith swung an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders.

Kellyn gave a silent chuckle.

**Yeah, you can be pretty persuasive**

As Keith threw back his head and laughed, Kellyn pointed at the dorm's door and went inside. He unhooked the green cloak that Kate had given to him for Christmas from the nob of his bed. He had started using it as a some-what travelling cloak, even though they didn't really go anywhere. He was planning on wearing it on the up-coming trip to the Chiroma Ruins. He slipped the sleeves on over his arms before closing the clasp in the back of the rigid neckpiece. Dusting it off briefly, he walked over to the open door where Keith was waiting.

"Ready?" he asked.

Kellyn quickly checked himself for his styler, his pencil sharpener, his notebook and two pencils (incase he lost one). Upon realising he had them all, he nodded.

They headed down the stairs, across the courtyard and outside. Everyone appeared to be inside. They were heading up the steps to the woods in the north-east of the school and Kellyn had just looked back over his shoulder to call mentally for Luna when Keith stopped him with a grip on his wrist.

"How does she know?"

**What do you mean?**

"How does Luna know when you call her? I mean, you don't speak."

**I don't need to**

Keith pondered over this until they reached the top of the steps. Then he grabbed Kellyn's shoulder and made him turn around.

"Call her" he told a very confused Kellyn "Call her through speech, if you can. That way you'll know if she can identify you by voice."

Kellyn looked uncertain, but finally nodded. He took a deep breath, knowing what would happen, and touched his tongue to the roof of his mouth. Automatically his throat tightened like someone had clenched it. He swallowed and summoned all his strength, fighting back the pain massacring his throat.

"Uuuuu-nnaaaa!" He croaked.

The little white Espeon nosed her way out of the bushes near the school doors. She appeared to have hard what appeared to sound like her name, but was unsure from who and where.

Kellyn took a few breaths to calm himself, looked at Keith for reassurance and then tried again.

"Luuuu-naaaa!"

This time Luna looked in his direction.

"Peon! Peon!" She opened her mouth in what may be a smile before bounding towards him.

Kellyn beamed and tried to call her again. But this time however silence was determined to stop him. His throat tightened to the point of collapse and his head throbbed from lack of oxygen. Before he knew what was happening, he fell backwards. Thankfully, Keith caught him before he hit the ground.

"Kellyn! Kel are you alright?! I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to push you that hard! Kel!" the ginger cried.

Kellyn wanted to tell Keith it was fine, that it wasn't his fault; but there was little or no way to tell him this through speech and he couldn't see his notebook. He couldn't see much: only two heads, one with spikey white ears, that looked like Keith and Luna.

"H-Hang on!" Keith panicked "T-There's a stream up ahead! Can you walk?!"

Kellyn gave a weak shake of his head. His limbs all felt numb.

"R-Right!" Keith sounded beyond nervous "Don't worry! I've got this!"

Before Kellyn knew what was happening, he felt Keith's arms wrap around his back and below his legs and felt himself begin lifted into the air.

'_Ah_! _Keith no_!' He panicked and quickly grabbed Keith's shoulders to stop himself from falling.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall" Keith reassured him "If I do, feel free to punch me until my eyes fall out. Just make sure our other roomies don't help you out." He grimaced at the thought.

Kellyn snorted with laughter and loosened his grip, closing his eyes.

'_Thanks for trying Keith_' he thought.

He felt the bobbing motion as Keith walked along, keeping a tight grip on Kellyn to make sure the younger boy didn't fall. After about five minutes, Kellyn heard the sound of running water and Keith's constant bobbing motion broke it's rhythm as he began wading though something. Kellyn knew they'd reached the stream. The wading stopped and after a few more rhythmic bounces, Kellyn felt himself being lowered to the ground. He opened his eyes and saw Keith had lowered him onto a patch of grass under a shady ash tree he was leaning against.

"Feeling any better?" the ginger asked.

Kellyn looked up at the green and brown branches above him and let out one of those signature unusually high sighs. He opened his notebook and, upon realising that his head was staying still enough for him to focus, wrote a message.

**Is it Ok if I stay here for a while?**

"Oh, of course" Keith nodded "I'll just go ahead a little. I'll be back in ten minutes."

Kellyn nodded tiredly. Keith nodded back with that signature cheeky grin and disappeared somewhere behind the tree, presumably heading deeper into the forest.

Several minutes past, Kellyn spending every second of them gazing transfixed at something; be it the tree branches and the sky, the stream, a blade of grass or a flower. Once in a while Luna would call out to him and he'd stroke her or pat the top of her head with a warm smile before staring at something else.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there before he heard the sound of something snapping and then something even worse: an agonised scream. Although what made it worse was the way after a second it stopped abruptly.

'_Keith_!' Kellyn scrambled to his feet, suddenly not feeling so painful any more.

Luna sniffed the air and bounded into the trees.

"_**His scent's this way! Come on! Hurry!**_" Luna looked over her shoulder at Kellyn who was attempting to run beside her.

A minute later, they reached a small clearing, mostly taken up by a large hole about six metres wide. Kellyn peered in and saw, about 20 or 30 feet down, the shape of a figure. It was lying completely still and not making a sound.

'_Oh Keith_! _Why didn't you watch out for the edge_?!' Kellyn despaired.

It couldn't be! It couldn't be his best friend was...

'_No_!' Kellyn tried to call out Keith's name, but it came out as a strangled squeak. He tried again, but it had the same effect. The third time though, something happened. The figure stirred.

"Keeeeth!" Kellyn squeaked in a voice so high it sounded more like a Pokemon's.

A single brown eye opened.

"K-Kel?" he whispered.

Kellyn gave a high-pitched sigh of relief. Keith was alive at least. But he'd fallen a long way and would mostly like have at least one broken bone. And he didn't like the way Keith was lying on his back. The way his head was resting on the ground plainly said that it pained him to move his neck; and even though his chest was rising and falling his breath came in long gasps, leaving Kellyn to assume he may have broken a rib or two.

'_Oh Keith_' he thought. A tear came to his eye that he quickly wiped away - tears couldn't help Keith now.

"...Kellyn..." Keith coughed, but he sounded like he was being strangled as he did "...Can't...move..." He looked up at Kellyn, his brown eyes dull with pain "...Get...help...please..." His head then rolled to the side and his eyes shut.

For a few seconds, Kellyn was paralysed with the fear his best friend may have passed, but then left a wash of relief as he saw Keith's chest rise and fall. He was alive, for now. He needed help.

Kellyn looked down at his friend one last time before rising to his feet and running.

* * *

><p>Kellyn crashed to the ground for what much be the seventh time. He growled with annoyance. How come a forest on a island could be so big?! Not to mention confusing! Panting, he sat against a tree and tried to get his breath back.<p>

'_Try and find a way back to the school_' he told Luna. The white Espeon nodded and bounded off into the bushes. For a moment, everything was peaceful beyond Kellyn's pants of exhaustion slicing the atmosphere. And then that moment ended.

"_**Run! Quickly!**_"

"_**Don't look back! She's coming!**_"

"_**Watch out! Don't get caught! You'll never get free!**_"

Kellyn turned his head and saw a flock of Shinx, Cherbi and Oddish running across a small clearing. Suddenly, something shot down out of the sky and struck a Shinx with a funny lightning-bolt marking on it's forehead on the back. The Shinx had just enough time to contort it's face into a plainly terrified position before it froze, literally! Within a second the Shinx turned a brilliant gold colour and didn't move. It didn't drop to the ground dead or anything dramatic like that, it just froze. His white pupils dilating, Kellyn remained as still as the Shinx for a second before he heard a loud roar overhead followed by the sound of a vehicle, probably a motorbike, speeding towards him. Acting by instinct, he rolled sideways into the bushes and crouched there.

After a few seconds, a bunch of motorbikes rolled out from between the trees and stopped in a semi-circle around the Shinx. One man, probably their leader, shook his head as he dismounted from his motorbike and picked up the Shinx. Another man placed a funny white base thing on the ground. The first man placed the Shinx on the base and mounted his motorbike again. But before he did, he pushed a little lever on the base to the top of the gauge. A clear dome materialised around the Shinx and the base floated into the air so it would be level with Kellyn's head if he were standing.

"Not here" the second man muttered. The roar sounded again and Kellyn hugged his knees tightly. A Salamence flew down into the clearing with a woman dressed in purple and black on it's back. She had ice-blue hair, narrow golden-grey eyes and on her lower arm there was a grey gun-like gauntlet.

"Did you get it?" she asked the men in an impatient voice.

"Negative, sir" the leader told her "Just a Shinx."

The woman growled, tightening her fists. "Shinxes. As if finding a white Espeon out here wasn't hard enough!"

Kellyn felt his blood run cold. A white Espeon? They were after a white Espeon?! They were after Luna?!

That was too much for Kellyn.

In his shock, he allowed himself to let out a squeak of shock and fear.

Automatically all heads turned towards the bush he was hiding in.

'_Oh Arceus_!'

He heard a click as the woman prepared the gauntlet to fire. He heard a bang and automatically he sprung out of the bushes behind a tree. But suddenly his legs felt heavy and dragged him down. Unbeknown to him, his eyes briefly flashed blue-white. He looked down at his legs briefly. They were coated gold and he couldn't move them. At least he could move everything else, his psychic powers must have stopped the damage spreading. He tried to get up, but his legs felt like they were encased in concrete. He dragged himself a metre or so before he found himself at the gun-point again. The Salamence was glaring at him only a few metres away, the woman with her gauntlet ready.

"For meddling with our affairs!" she growled.

The gauntlet launched a blob of white-gold out. Instinctively, Kellyn trust his palm out and his eyes flashed to their irregular colour. The blob stopped in midair before shattering into harmless particles of gold and white light.

The woman seemed taken back for a second, but then she growled a word Kellyn understood perfectly.

"Lunick!"

Kellyn froze. This woman knew his brother?

"Lunick is dead!" She growled "There is no way for you to have...!" She stopped as a look of realisation came over what he could see of the woman's face "The child! You!" She pointed a finger at Kellyn "You're eleven, are you not?"

Kellyn gave a small, terrified nod.

"Answer me! Are you eleven?!"

Kellyn nodded frantically, not wanting to taste the bullet of that gauntlet a second time. He didn't know if his powers would save him again.

"You" the woman's eyes had narrowed by now "You're the child he swore to protect." A sly smile tugged at the corner of her lips "Lunick is a fool! He could barely move a paper clip with those powers - and he honestly thinks a mere child can draw out their potential!"

Kellyn titled his head to the side in confusion. What was this woman talking about? Sure, he was pretty angry for two reasons:

A. She called him a child.

B. She called Lunick a fool.

The latter was the one that wound Kellyn up the most. No one, and I mean no one, dared badmouth his brother!

He swallowed his anger and wore his confused face.

"Still can't control your powers" the woman commented "Your brother couldn't either. It took him until he was ten to learn to talk." She lost her smile "You look confused. Oh, of course - Lunick died before he could tell you about your powers. Well let me care to enlighten you."

She paused, mostly likely preparing for an explanation.

"The powers you possess, are almost unique. They can't be created or destroyed, only passed on. When a bearer dies, the being nearest to them obtains their powers. Lunick knew this, which is why he always kept that girl, Solana, beside him. Then he started to show feelings for her, and he started to fear the idea of getting her in trouble by passing his powers onto her. He didn't want his death to just be the start of misery for her. Then the war broke out, and trying to find another passer became nearly impossible. So Lunick had one choice - to master his powers to keep him alive. Then, they found you." The woman folded her arms "An abandoned baby - the perfect passer. You may have only been three months old, but already Lunick knew this was his true heir. What better heir than a child you raised yourself? Slowly, he fed his powers into you, leaving just enough to prevent his death until you were old enough to learn to use your new powers. But after the disappearance of his little friend Solana, he grew careless. This led to his death, a pointless accident of a death. He had only one option left - to hide you in the most secluded part of Almia. Hide you from the people who wanted your powers." She smiled again "Including me."

After this long speech, Kellyn paused for a while. His hand slowly moved up to his locket and unlocked it. He stared down at the picture of his 'older brother' on the left. The picture showed him when he was thirteen. Midnight blue hair, aqua-blue eyes and a contagious smile; how could a boy as ordinary as this hold such a dangerous and outlandish secret? He looked at the woman and tilted his head to the other side.

"You're wondering why people want your powers, why they're significant, aren't you?" the woman asked "You apparently don't know the legend." She raised her chin "'A child with two colours of eyes, with the gift of ancient Pokemon, shall by the snow-drawn Espeon, decide the fait of all the regions of the world'." She looked sternly at the still confused Kellyn "In short, a child with psychic powers and eyes that change colour, will gain a partner in a white Espeon and decide the fait of all regions."

Kellyn paled. He? He and Luna were supposed to decide the fait of all regions?! This was insane! Okay, he'd never exactly been a normal kid; but this was nuts - even for him!

"That's why we need to find the white Espeon" the woman explained further "Someone would be willing to pay millions for something as rare as that. But now," She pointed her gauntlet at him again "You and the white Espeon are connected, you just don't know it. However, wherever you are, it'll be drawn towards you. And if we were to capture the both of you..."

She gave another sly smile. Kellyn, despite being terrified, pointed at her and tilted his head. The woman understood.

"What's my name you ask?" she smiled "The name is J. Pokemon Hunter J."

She looked just about to launch when they both froze stock-still. They had both heard it. The cry of a Pokémon.

"That's a...!" Hunter J began, but she stopped, probably in shock.

Then Kellyn heard the same voice 'speak'.

"_**Kellyn! I found someone who can help us! Kellyn!**_"

'_No_!' he cried mentally '_Stay away_! _Please_!'

As he thought this, he gave what could only be described as terrified squeaks and shuffled towards the bushes, dragging his paralysed legs behind him. But now he was starting to hear the sound of something crashing throught the thick bushes to the right.

"Well well, that worked better than I thought" Hunter J smiled, then looked down at him "Hear that? It sounds like your counterpart has found you."

"Peon!" On cue, Luna skidded out of the bushes.

Stealthily, Hunter J spun round and fired at Luna. The white Espeon squeaked in fear and leapt to the left, just saving herself.

"_**Kellyn!**_" she squeaked, leaping up and grasping the spindly low branch of a tree in order to dodge a second attack.

'_Luna_!' he cried mentally '_Get away_! _Run_! _Quickly_!' But Luna showed no signs of leaving. She just kept on dodging the relentless attacks; still, Kellyn wasn't sure how long her luck would hold out.

"_**What's going on down there?!**_"

Kellyn looked up and smiled at what he saw. He raised his styler to the sky.

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Kellyn! What are we gonna do?!<strong>_" Luna cried as she bounded over another attack. She was careful to not draw attention to her friend and master.

She dodged another attack and noticed he had the antenna of his styler visible.

'_Capture complete_' he spoke silently.

"_**What are you talking about?! Kellyn!**_" Luna cried. Kellyn signalled for her to come to him.

'_Over here_! _Quickly_!'

"_**Are you insane?!**_"

'_Probably. You wanna escape_? _Then get over here_!'

"_**You better know what you're doing! Or we're both toast!**_"

Luna changed direction and pounded towards Kellyn. The Salamence moved in behind her and Hunter J fired. Luna ran as fast as her little legs would take her, but she knew she would never make it. But she saw Kellyn's eyes narrow slightly and his eyes flash from their enchanting blue-green colour to a soul-chilling blue-white. She skidded to a halt and heard the sound of something exploding behind her. But that wasn't why she stopped; she had lost herself in those blue-white eyes.

'_**Lunick**_' she thought sadly '_**Where are you when we need you**_?'

'_Luna_? _What's the matter_? _Come on_! _She's getting ready to fire again_!'

Luna snapped out of her trance and bounded into Kellyn's arms. He looped one arm around her and raised one hand to the sky.

'_Staraptor_!' he called '_Now_!'

"Star!" A large grey bird swooped down from the sky, grabbed Kellyn by his shoulders and disappeared with him and Luna above the trees.

Hunter J fired one last time, but the missile missed the Staraptor's left wing and both flying objects vanished from sight. She growled.

"Lunick" she growled "You've made your choice." She wore the smallest of all smiles "And this time not even death can protect you or your little gift."

* * *

><p>Kellyn was exhausted. His legs were weighing him down and it was starting to agonise his fingers to cling onto the Staraptor. Luna was clawing at his cloak, frantic not to fall into whatever was below them at this current moment, be it sea or land. Eventually, Kellyn had to squeeze his eyes shut to focus on something other than the pain.<p>

'_We're...going down_' he brain came to a rather surprising realisation '_We must be near land. Luna said she found someone. Maybe...maybe Staraptor found them_.'

They must have been near to the ground, because when Staraptor suddenly let go he immediately faceplanted it and rolled along like a fish. He didn't dare open his eyes, even when he stopped rolling.

"_**Recover!**_" Luna's voice yelped.

The...whatever it was encasing his legs thinned slightly - or maybe it vanished completely, he wasn't sure. But either way, his legs ached.

"Luna? What is it? What's wro...GREAT FLAMING PIE IN THE SKY! Kellyn what happened?!"

'_Who's that_?' Kellyn tried to place the familiar voice, but his brain was too fuzzy to put the pieces together.

"_**Kellyn! Don't you dare pass out on me, Solider**_!" He was fairly sure Luna slapped him across the face as she said that, but it had small paws so it was a fairly lame slap. And he was so out of it Luna may as well have not bothered.

"Kellyn, no! Stay awake! Argh...stay here! I'll get help!"

As the darkness overwhelmed him, Kellyn smiled as he finally placed that voice.

'_Kate_. (Sigh). _Thank Arceus_.'


	31. Left to our own devices

**"Just try not to kill each other."**

**"****Soooo. What do we do now?" **

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Thirty-One - Left to our own devices**

Kellyn found himself fortunate to have survived his ordeal, so naturally didn't bring the subject up very much. Keith though had damaged his leg and whilst it wasn't broken, he still limped on it a bit. Kellyn's reluctance to share his story though led to Keith getting some fame of his own. At first the story seemed quite reasonable, he was investigating some strange noises when something moved underground and he fell into the hole. But, this being Keith, the story slowly started to change and distort. Three weeks later, Keith was telling a thrilling tale of how he wrestled a Drapion with his bare hands and kicked it flying so hard he was knocked backwards into the hole by his own 'amazing' strength.

"He's acting like _he_ was the one who fought Hunter J, not you" Kate commented.

Kellyn shrugged, he didn't really care.

'_Besides, I can't say I fought her, I just listened and then ran away_' he thought.

By the end of this three week period, it was mid-April and time for the trip to the Chroma Ruins. However, Janice had refused to let Keith go for fear of injuring his leg further. The ginger opened his mouth to protest, but finally reluctantly agreed when Kellyn, Kate, Rhythmi and Starlight agreed to stay with him.

"We should be the ones on that bus" Keith muttered, watching the yellow bus pulled away from Ranger School and drive over the bridge to the mainland.

"Oh come on Keith!" Kate elbowed him "Cheer up! Three whole days for the five of us with no teachers! How awesome is that?!"

It was true about no teachers. The Principle, Miss April and Kincaid had all gone on the trip. Kaplan and Claire had returned to their home in Pueltown for a break and Cook had left the region to collect berries from Sinnoh. So it was just them, Janice and the Pokemon.

'_Three whole days in the lunie-bin with Keith_' Kellyn rolled his eyes slightly '_Oh joy of joys_!'

* * *

><p>If there was anything this quintet weren't, it was responsible. So when Janice announced she was heading to Pueltown to pick up some delieveries, they hit the roof. Well, except one person.<p>

"YEEEEESSSSS!" Keith was bouncing around like he was on sugar-high "A whole day to OURSELVES!"

"I'm already starting to regret this" Janice sighed, slinging her handbag over her shoulder.

"Starlight, please make sure Keith doesn't do anything too stupid" Rhythmi sighed, slipping a blue backpack on.

"Where are you going again?" Starlight asked.

"The market in Vientown" Rhythmi answered "It's only open on Wednesdays, so since Janice and Cook are away I thought I might as well go there myself."

"Wait, you're leaving me here alone with three boys?!" Kate looked horrified and gave Rhythmi a hug so fierce she almost crushed the blonde "Please don't leave me!"

"Oh Kate!" Rhythmi laughed, prying her terrified friend off her "It's only Keith that's giddy. Just keep him away from the sugar and he'll be fine. Plus, you get to spend some time alone with Kellyn."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Kate demanded, her cheeks turning three shades redder.

"Oh never mind!" Rhythmi laughed "I'll see you guys this evening."

She waved and then turned and walked down the steps out of the school gates.

"I should be back by tonight" Janice infomed Kate and Starlight "Just, try not to kill each other."

She set off after Rhythmi.

Kate and Starlight stared at each other for a few seconds, unsure of what to do. Then both shook their heads and went inside, closing the door behind them.

Upstairs in the common room, Keith had found the secret cupcake stash and was pratically bouncing off the walls in a mad sugar-rush. At the moment, he was doing what appeared to be a cross between an irish jig and a tap dance on top of one of the tables.

"We've gotta look after him for a day?" Kate grimaced.

Starlight nodded with a pained look on his face.

At that moment, the door to the bathroom opened. Kellyn had apparently been taking a shower because he was rubbing his chocolate-brown hair with a towel, making it spike in all directions. He grunted and handed them his notebook. The page had a pre-written message on it:

**I'm hungry**

"Not just you" Starlight grunted. He walked over to the sofa where Luna and Shadow were sleeping and patted the Umbreon on the head before scooting him along so he could sit in between the two Pokemon.

Kellyn frowned and underlined his previous sentence.

"We all are Kellyn" Kate sighed "But we need to wait for Rhythmi to come back with the food. If your lucky, there may be a sandwich or something in the fridge."

Kellyn snorted and stormed off towards the canteen.

"So, what do we do now?" Kate asked Starlight. The silver-haired boy shrugged.

"Movie!" Keith cheered. He bounced off the table onto the sofa next to Starlight's. However, the springs were too much for him and he was set flying off the sofa, faceplanting the floor.

"I'm fine!" Keith said cheerily, rubbing his nose as he sat up "Please can we watch a movie?! Pleeeeeeeeeease!"

"Only if you promise to settle down and be sensible" Kate said in a mothering tone, looking down at Keith with arms folded.

"I promise, I promise, I promise, I promise!" Keith begged on his knees in front of Kate "Pweeeease Kate! Pwity pwease?!"

Kate scowled. Those darn puppy-dog eyes! They were almost as unbareable as Kellyn's, although used ten times as much.

"Oh fine!" she sighed "Just find a good one!"

Keith cheered and raced over to the DVD pile.

"Nothing corney and no horror movies" Starlight warned him "I know what your movie taste is like."

"Oh don't be such a worry-puss!" Keith grinned, still on sugar-high, flicking through the DVDs "Ooh! Yes! Death Star Destroyer!"

"No!" Kate and Starlight both growled.

Keith pouted. "What do you want then?! The tragedy of Plusle and Minum?!"

"I like that movie!" Kate protested.

"You like it?" Starlight blinked "But it's so sad."

"It's a romatic" Kate pointed out.

"It's about two blind lovers from warring families who end up commiting suicide to be with each other! What's so brilliant about that?!" Keith waved his arms in the air to highlight his point.

"As much as I hate to, I have to agree with him" Starlight added.

"Oh fine" Kate sighed "What other movies are there?"

Keith resumed flicking through the DVDs. "Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea?" he suggested, holding the DVD case up.

"No way, I've seen it like a thousand times" Kate shook her head.

"Pokemon Heroes?" Keith held up the next DVD.

"Too depressing" Starlight shook his head.

"Pokemon 2000?" Keith held up the next DVD.

"What about that one about the Pokemon from outer space?" Kate suggested.

"You mean Destiny Deoxys?" Keith asked "Um, I think it's in here somewhere..." He began setting some of the DVD cases on the table next to the table "Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, Arceus and the Jewel of Life, Giratina and the Sky Warrior... Aha! Here it is!"

He waved a DVD case in the air "Destiny Deoxys!" He removed the DVD, which had a Rayquaza head printed on it, from the case and turned on the DVD player. After inputing the DVD, Keith turned on the television and flicked through the channels to get to the DVD channel. When he finally found it, the adverts at the beginning had begun announcing what had been in the cinemas several years ago at the time the DVD was new. He promptly sat down on the end of the sofa next to Starlight.

As the movie was reaching the start menu, Kellyn returned. He was holding a ham sandwich, looking proud of himself. Just as he was about to take a bite, Keith suddenly snatched the sandwich from Kellyn.

"Thanks Kel! My favourite sandwich!" Keith grinned and downed it.

Kellyn watched it with a horrified expression on his face as Keith ate the last of the food. He then growled and drove his foot into the floor, folding his arms and his eyes flashing murderously.

"Oh stop stressin' out, me ami!" Keith gave Kellyn such a hard pat on the back the smaller boy almost face-planted the wooden floor. "Come on! We're watching Destiny Deoxys!"

Kellyn gave Keith one last furious look before stomping over to the sofa and sitting on the other end next to Kate.

The movie wasn't a comedy, so there wasn't any hysterical laughter, except from Keith at the Team Rocket clips and the Plusle and Minun scenes which Kate 'awwww'ed at. The movie was one of Kellyn's favourites: about a boy called Tori who was afraid of Pokémon but with the help of Ash, a Plusle and a Minun came to love them at the end of the movie. Plus Rayquaza and Deoxys were having a massive fight above the city.

An hour-and-a-half later, the credits began to roll. Before any of them could turn the DVD off, Keith stopped them so he could sing along to one of his favourite songs, This Side Of Paradise.

"_There's a place I knoooow! It's always jumpin'! I'm thinking we should go and leeeeeave our worrrrrieeeeessss!_"

"Keith stop it!" Kate covered her ears. She liked the song too, but Keith's singing was beyond terrible.

"_You've gotta friend in meeee! And I'll tell you somethin'! This time can be extrodiiiiiinaryyyyyy!_"

"Keith! Put a sock in it!" yelled Starlight, barely able to hear himself over Keith's singing and his covered ears.

Keith just turned the volume up on the television so he could sing along even louder.

"_When shadows fall you're feelin' smaaall! It looks like walls are clo..._OW!" Keith stopped singing and began rubbing his nose where someone had punched him.

Both Kellyn and Kate were standing right in front of him, blocking his view of the television; he couldn't tell which one had punched him. Starlight had turned the volume down and paused the DVD.

"What?!" he complained.

"You were singing" Kate informed him.

Keith shrugged. "So?"

Kate facepalmed.

"Just don't start singing again, okay Keith?" Starlight warned him and he ejected the DVD and put it back in its case.

"Alright" Keith sighed, leaning back against the sofa and folding his arms behind his head "Soooo. What do we do now?"

There was a long pause.

"I'm gonna go outside" Starlight said, getting to his feet "Take Luna and Shadow out for a bit."

Kellyn nodded and agreement and followed him out.

Kate stretched and announced: "I'm going to take a shower. Keith, you ought to finish that homework Miss April set. It's still not done and it's in for Monday."

"Yeah, I guess" Keith shrugged send mumbled.

Kate fetched him a glass of water and he uncovered some (very dusty) schoolbooks and a pencil case from his room. She made sure he was acutally going to do his homework before she grabbed her towel and headed into the bathroom.

* * *

><p>"Well ain't that predictable" Kate grumbled, throwing her towel into the wash basket behind her.<p>

Keith was still sitting on the sofa, a table in front of him with his soon-to-be-completed homework and glass of water on top. Now however, though the homework still wasn't completed, the glass of water was empty and Keith was sprawled out on the sofa, asleep. Kate walked around to the other side of the sofa and saw his head was tilted back on top of the sofa, snoring and disgustingly drooling.

"Keith Dazuru!" Kate yelled slamming her palms onto the sofa either side of Keith's head.

Keith jolted awake and yelped, waving his arms madly in the air and almost hitting Kate.

"W-What was that for?!" he cried.

"You were sleeping!" Kate narrowed her eyes, keeping her hands planted either side of Keith's head, and leant forwards so their noses were inches apart "What happened to actually getting a _C _in your Maths exam this year!"

Keith leant backwards, feeling extremely uncomfortable with the close contact.

"W-What happened to your crush on Kellyn?" he gulped.

"Wha?! What are you talking about!" Kate gasped, straightening "How dare you!" Automatically her hands were at Keith's throat. "What rumours have you been spreading?! Huh?!"

"Gah!" Keith chocked, trying to free the furious gingerette's grip on his neck as she positively screamed at him.

"Guys! We have a big problem!"

Kate looked over her shoulder as a voice called from the doorway. She let go of Keith's neck in shock, allowing the poor boy to breathe. When he finally got some oxygen into his lungs, Keith peered around the stunned Kate to see what had shocked her.

He felt sick.

With Shadow and Luna standing at his feet, Starlight was panting in the doorway at the top of the steps. His white hair was wild and his golden-brown eyes were wide with fear. In his arms he carried the tiny frame of Kellyn. He was limp and pale, and didn't appear to be breathing...


	32. WHAT HAPPENED!

**"I'm not putting my hand in that!"**

**"****You're a good person. I don't understand why you have to hide it." **

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Thirty-Two - WHAT HAPPENED?!**

You read the chapter title. Those were Kate's first words on the matter.

"Starlight...WHAT HAPPENED?!" she shrieked, rushing over to the unconscious boy and the teenager carrying him.

"I don't know!" Starlight was obviously panicking "I just found him and ran back here!"

"_**MURDER**_!" Shadow came racing up the stairs and spinning in a frighted and confused circle "_**There's been a murder! There's been a murder! There's been a...**_!"

Shadow was stopped as Luna jumped up the steps behind him and whacked him over the head with her tails. Shadow staggered on the spot for a second before crashing onto his face in his disorientation.

"_**There's no murder you blithering idiot**_!" she hissed "_**He's still alive**_!"

Unfortunately, out of the three humans conscious, only one could understand what Luna was saying. And it was not Keith.

"A'right, whadda we 'ave 'here?" Keith jumped out of nowhere, wearing a tan knee-length coat, a detective hat and a fake pipe in his mouth "Seems to be a clear case of murder by strangulation!"

Kate smacked him over the head.

"Don't talk like that!" she hissed as Starlight carried Kellyn over to the sofa to set him down "You'll jinx it!"

"Not to defeat the purpose of your coat and pipe, Mr Homes" Starlight spoke up, leaning over Kellyn "But he's not been murdered and I believe he's just got a fever."

"Okay" Kate took a deep breath "Right. First things first," she whirled around and glared at Keith "Keith! Take that bloody outfit off before I force it down your throat!"

Her eyes were full with a cold fire, and it was so rare for Kate to swear that Keith obeyed immediately.

"Yes ma'am!" Keith took off his outfit and...threw it out the open window. No one commented. "So. Whadda we do?"

"Does anyone watch Casualty?" Starlight tried.

No answer.

"Nurse Joy 91210?"

Still no answer.

"Well, Sorrel got sick once" Kate finally spoke up "And he had a fever. Percy put a flannel on his forehead to cool him down."

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!" Keith jumped up and down on the spot, waving his arm in the air "I can do that! I can do that!"

"Alright" Starlight nodded "See if you can find a rag or a towel or something in the kitchen."

Keith gave him a thumbs-up and raced off down the steps. Kate remembered something and quickly jogged to the top of the steps.

"Keith!" she called down to him, making him turn around in the courtyard "It has to be wet! Preferably soaked in icy water!"

"Ice! Got it!" Keith gave her another thumbs-up and ran out of the courtyard in the direction of the cafeteria.

Nodding once, Kate walked back over to the sofa.

"He'll need blankets" she spoke up "As many as we can find."

"Blankets?" Starlight blinked "You just sent Keith to get a cold rag."

"For his head" Kate pointed out "He'll be cold everywhere else."

Starlight looked at her blankly.

"Look, it's me, or you can ask Keith for advice. Your call" Kate stared him down.

"And you learnt this from?" Starlight inquired.

"I told you before - Percy" Kate reminded him "A fully-fledged ranger and not an incorrigible psycho like Dr Ginger-Snapped down there."

Starlight paused for a minute, but then walked into the boys' dorm without a word. He returned several seconds later with a pile of neatly folded blankets. The two of them laid the blankets on top of Kellyn, tucking them in at the side that bordered with the back of the sofa.

"Are you sure about this?" Starlight asked, looking at Kate.

"You wanna know the truth?" she requested. Starlight nodded. "I haven't got a clue."

As Starlight groaned, Kate took in a deep shuddering breath and curled a fist against her chest. "But I really wish I did."

"..." Starlight also stood up straight, looking at Kate with a wise but not overpowering gaze. "You really care about him, don't you?"

Kate turned her head away, but said nothing.

"Kate! Kate! I brought the rag and ice!" Keith came racing up the stairs with a bucket in one hand and a rag in the other.

"What?" Kate blinked as Keith set the bucket down on the floor. Peering inside, she facepalmed. "Keith. I asked you to get me a rag soaked in icy water. NOT a rag and a bucket of ICE!"

"Well it is icy water!" Keith folded his arms "Just more leaning towards the ice bit."

Now Starlight facepalmed.

"Argh! You're so useless!" Kate practically yowled "Give that here! I'll do it myself!"

She grabbed the bucket and stomped down the steps. Keith looked a bit offended.

"And I thought everyone liked me" he muttered.

"She's just stressed" Starlight reassured him "She's freaking out inside 'cos of Kellyn dropping dead like this."

"Huh?" Keith blinked "You mean he really is dead?"

Starlight reintroduced his face to his palm.

Then Keith grinned. "She really likes him. Doesn't she?"

"Congratulations genius, yeah duh" Starlight groaned.

"Okay, what is with you?" Keith's grin faded and he folded his arms "Seriously, all you ever do is grumble and groan. I haven't seen you smile in like a month. And you're not exactly panicking now your 'best friend' is on Giratina's road."

Starlight sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm not good at expressing emotions." He looked Keith dead in the eye. "But I am worried. Really. I'm just not good at showing it."

Keith stretched and folded his arms behind his head. "Why not?"

Starlight shrugged. "I dunno. Everything from before I met you guys is a mystery. My lack of knowledge on how to deal with emotions too."

Keith would have continued, but at that moment Kate came back into the room and he decided not to push it.

"Here!" she heaved the bucket over to the sofa. It was now two-third filled with water with withering ice cubes floating on the surface. The rag was soaking in the water.

Keith wrinkled his nose at the ice cubes.

"I'm not putting my hand in that" he declared.

Kate rolled her eyes and rolled up the sleeve of her shirt. She plunged her hand in, wincing at the cold, before drawing it back with the rag clenched in her fist. She wrung it out before placing it over Kellyn's forehead. It had no immediate obvious effect, other than calming Kate down a notch.

"Anything else?" Starlight asked, inwardly anxious to do something to help.

"Hmmmm" Keith tapped his chin with his finger "Maybe we can feed him an Oran berry?"

Starlight groaned with exasperation.

"Great idea Keith!" Starlight blinked with surprise at Kate, who was surprisingly looking over her shoulder and smiling "Why don't you go and find some and put them in the blender? We can make Oran berry soup!"

Keith practically grinned his face off. "I go get some now!"

He was racing off drown the steps before he even finished the sentence.

Starlight folded his arms at Kate.

"There are no Oran berries on Ranger School grounds" he pointed out.

Kate shrugged. "I know" she told him "But there are blueberries."

Starlight raised a silver eyebrow. "You seriously think Keith's gonna mistake Oran berries for blueberries?"

"This is Keith" Kate pointed out.

Starlight said nothing on that tangent.

"Why are you being so hard on him?" he finally asked "I know you and Rhythmi get kicks out of bossing Keith around, but this is ridiculous. Just slap him or something; get the anger out will ya?"

Kate sighed, her eyes never leaving Kellyn's face.

"I'm sorry" she apologised "It's just, I know he's trying to help, which I appreciate, but..." she swallowed "If anything were to happen to Kellyn, I...I couldn't..." she looked at Starlight "Was he in pain when you found him?"

"Pain?" Starlight sighed, arms still folded, looking out the window "I don't know. When I found him by the woods, he was was unconscious with his arms wrapped around his stomach. There were some Pokémon gathered around him, but they weren't talking and..." he took a deep breath. "I thought he was dead, that he'd been stabbed or something. But there was no blood. It was Luna who screamed at me to bring him back here."

Kate's head turned to look at the white Espeon. She was curled up, nestled between Kellyn's body and sofa back, with her little nose in the boy's palm, apparently asleep.

"Amazing huh?" Kate wore a small smile on her face "How close an Espeon he found in the wild several months ago really is to him."

Starlight said nothing about that.

"You see" he said instead "You don't have to worry. Kellyn has three amazing people watching out for him."

Kate blushed beet-red at being called amazing. But then she looked confused.

"Hang on, you said three" she frowned "Me, Luna, who's the third?"

Did he mean himself? Kate wasn't sure - Starlight wasn't the type of person who would refer to himself as amazing.

"Lunick" Starlight answered simply, leaning against the wall, eyes on the window.

Kate was rather startled by that - she thought she and Kellyn were the only ones who knew about his siblings. Maybe Kellyn had told Starlight too?

Kate didn't have much time to dwell on it, for at that moment Luna shifted, letting out a little feline sigh. Kate whirled around, Starlight forgotten, hoping it was Kellyn waking up that had caused Luna to stir. But no, Kellyn hadn't moved an inch. Sighing, Kate pulled a chair over to the edge of the sofa and sat down on it, gently clutching Kellyn's little hand in her own.

After a minute or so of watching them, Starlight decided he would be more use in the kitchen - making sure Keith didn't blow the blender up. With a grunt, he pushed himself off the wall, joints cricking with protest.

"Come on Shadow" he called.

Shadow, who had previously been staring at Kellyn as if he was the remains of Mary Kelly, squeaked with alarm and high-tailed it to Starlight's side. Kate didn't even look up, oblivious to anything but the occupant of the sofa she was staring at. Shaking his head, Starlight made his way out of the common room, the dull thudding of the soles of his boots on the concrete steps the only sound in the hot noon air.

The whole world seemed to be holding it's breath, scared and silent...

* * *

><p>...that is, until a loud boom resonated from the cafeteria.<p>

* * *

><p>"What an ape" Starlight muttered, throwing the broken blender pieces into the bin. Neither Janice nor Cook would be happy about this, but at least they could blame it on Keith. It was Keith's fault after all. Honestly, who puts gravel in the blender?! "Moron."<p>

"I can hear you, ya know" Keith grumbled from where he was leaning against the opposite counter.

Starlight shook his head and dumped the oily bundles of paper towels he had used to mop up the damaged work surface in the bin too.

"Whatever, just don't touch anything electrical in here again, okay?" he sighed, heading for the door "I'll check on the invalid."

Keith watched Starlight leave, and then starting to get bored. He couldn't go back to the common room or Kate would disembowel him - and therefore couldn't get to his dorm. He could go outside, but there was nothing to do there. So he had essentially built himself a psychological prison cell...inside the cafeteria kitchen...at the one time he wasn't hungry.

Has someone checked his brain lately? When Kellyn woke up, he should probably check that.

Finally, the boredom got too much for him and he felt the excessive need to do something. He settled on making some hot chocolate. He wasn't really thirsty and it wasn't hot or anything - but it would involve physically doing something.

He set a mug on the counter, but then realised a problem. Starlight had told him him not to touch anything electrical - and even Keith knew a kettle was electrical. The little gauge thing showed him there more than enough water in the kettle, but he didn't know how to turn it on without touching it. So, being the utter moron he was, Keith picked up a fork - a fork of all things! - and tried to use that to push down the little plastic lever. And, as if just to make himself look even more stupid, the fork missed the lever and instead scraped the open socket behind the kettle. The electrical jolt was enough to make Keith yelp and fall onto his back - sprawled out on the plastic floor of the kitchen.

'_Great_' he thought, sarcasm dripping from his mind '_First Kellyn lands on his head, and now I turned myself into a giant battery_! _This is just not a good day to leave us unsupervised_! _Stupid kettle_!'

"Keith?"

'_Oh great_! _As if this couldn't get any worse_!'

Keith twisted his head to the right and saw Kate in the kitchen doorway. Rather than looking like she about to punch him like before, she was now looking at him rather concerned. Not Ah!-Kellyn's-ill-and-we-don't-know-what's-wrong-so-I'm-freaking out! concern. More Why's-Keith-lying-on-the-kitchen-floor-like-a-dead-Wingull? concern. But it was an improvement over wanting him dead for joking around.

"What happened?" Kate blinked.

Keith raised one hand and pointed at the kettle.

"The kettle vaporised me" he told her "I was making hot chocolate...without touching anything electrical."

Kate facepalmed. She stepped into the kitchen and extended a hand to help him. Once Keith was on his feet and the electrical buzz was out of his system, Kate sighed and walked over to the kettle.

"I'll make you ya hot chocolate" she sighed "Just don't touch anything else."

So Keith was now back to square one, leaning against the opposite counter and watching Kate make hot chocolate. He was now officially bored again since Kate had taken away his initial source of entertainment - even if it was only making a mug of hot chocolate.

"Here ya go!" Kate turned around, bearing two steaming mugs. She held one out to Keith.

Keith stared at the mug suspiciously.

"Why are you suddenly being nice of me?" he asked. He was a little concerned Kate may have 'accidentally' poured antifreeze into his hot chocolate.

Kate shrugged. "Because I was acting weird before" she told him "I was stressed, and I'm hoping hot chocolate will unstressed me." She took a sip from her mug, the hand in which she held Keith's mug starting to shiver slightly. "Now take it before I drop it."

Rather cautiously, Keith accepted the mug and took a sip. Even though the hot chocolate burnt his throat slightly, everything seemed fine so he relaxed.

"You're not bad you know" Keith commented, tapping his fingernails against the side of his mug in some sort of rhythm "Not really my type, but I see why Kellyn's fond of you."

Kate's cheeks went a light pink, and it wasn't from her hot chocolate.

"Does that mean you're over the crush you had on me?" she asked.

Keith awkwardly scuffed the floor with the side of his trainer sole.

"Nope" he admitted "But I know you prefer Kellyn, and you deserve him more than you do me. Besides, I couldn't break his heart, not that kid. He's far too much like Lind for his own good."

Kate smiled. Keith turned away from her to look out the window, mainly so he didn't have to meet her gaze.

"You're a good person Keith" she told him "I don't understand why you have to hide it."

Keith didn't answer for a long time.

"I'll tell you why, if you can answer a question - truthfully" he decided, looking over his shoulder at her.

Kate raised her mug to her lips and nodded - it was the least she could do for him.

"Do you like Kellyn? As in like like?"

Now Kate went beat-red. She stopped mid-sip and her eyes went slightly spacey. It took a long time for her to respond.

"This might sound strange, but it makes sense to me" she heaved a huge sigh "I think I see Kellyn the same way Leilani sees Percy. My best friend and colleague, but there's a feeling of something else. I'm not sure what it is yet, or what to do about it; but I'll figure it out eventually."

Keith smirked and looked about to say something, but he was stopped by a third voice.

"Er, guys" they turned to see Starlight at the outside of the kitchen window, looking rather green "We need a bucket."

"What d'ya spill?" Keith asked.

Starlight shook his head. "Nothing. Kellyn threw up. Sort of. He's still unconscious but his last meal is all over the common room floor."

"Thanks for that description" Keith wrinkled his nose.

Kate sighed and removed a bucket from the cupboard below the sink. She handed it to Starlight through the window; he smiled his thanks and left the window.

"Poor guy" Keith whistled.

"Who?" Kate inquired "Kellyn or Starlight?"

"Starlight of course" Keith grunted "Kellyn's unconscious. Star's the one that's gonna clean up his mess."

Kate rolled her eyes. "We can't manage" she muttered.

"Eh?" Keith took another swig of hot chocolate, but regretted it as the hot liquid burnt his throat. Coughing relentlessly, he shoved his face under the cold tap and tried to twist his head awkwardly under the water so he could sooth his burning throat. Kate rolled her eyes at his stupid display. When Keith was done being a complete and utter nut-job, he added: "What did you say?"

"Idiot" Kate muttered, before speaking up "We can't manage by ourselves. We need help. We need Janice or..." Her eyes lit up "Rhythmi!"

"Where?!" Keith stared out the window, evidently expecting Rhythmi to come waltzing up the path.

Kate groaned and smacked him upside the head again.

"No, you moron!" she hissed "We need Rhythmi! She's not here! But we need someone with medical knowledge to be here, and Operator training requires them to know first aid! We need Rhythmi!"

"But she's in Vientown" Keith pointed out, rather stupidly.

Kate grabbed the front of his jumper in tight fists, dragging his face down to her level.

"I know that, idiot!" she yelled "But you're going to run down to Vientown and drag her back!"

"Me?" Keith pointed at himself, still acting stupid. Then he realised what he was saying and shook his head furiously, wrenching himself free of Kate's grip "I can't! Janice said she'd tattle on me to Kincaid and get me suspended if I so much as walk out the front gates!"

He gestured at his leg as if it was a great spectacle to stare at. Kate frowned and jabbed him in the shoulder, though there didn't seem to be an obvious reason for her to do so other than to annoy Keith.

"Why can't you go?!" Keith protested.

"I promised Janice I'd stay here and babysit you and Kellyn!" Kate shot back. They were both yelling now.

"Alright, why not Starlight?" Keith tried.

"He's cleaning up poor Kellyn's stomach acid - I'm not sending him into town after that!" Kate responded. She thought for a second, then looked pensive "Did Janice say she'd get you suspended of you walked out the front gates?"

"Yeah" Keith nodded.

Kate wore a wicked smile on her face, one that made a single thought stir in Keith's head:

'_I'm gonna die_.'

* * *

><p>Starlight, who had just finished mopping up the mess on the floor, was curious as to why Kate was grinning as she skipped into the common room, with no regard for her personal safety.<p>

"Kate! Look out!" he cried out.

Kate skidded to a halt, slipping on the wet floor for a second before putting on the brakes and grinning at him.

"Rhythmi's gonna be here soon!" she grinned "She'll sort everything out!"

"Rhythmi's in Vientown" Starlight pointed out.

Kate rolled her eyes and sighed. "Yes, we've established that. Keith's gone to get her."

"Keith?" Starlight blinked again "Keith's not allowed to leave school."

"Correction: Keith's not allowed to walk out the front gates" Kate corrected him "So he didn't."

Starlight was now really confused. "So, what, he swam off the island? Or teleported?"

Kate grinned slyly "One word: Staraptor."

"Stara..." Starlight stopped himself and blinked again. "And he agreed to this."

Kate nodded with her wicked grin.

Starlight looked around to check the coast was clear before saying: "Y'know Shadow?"

"Kinda hard to live here and not" Kate nodded.

"Well you know what his mental state's like" Starlight pointed out, Kate agreeing. "And yet, Keith is still the dumbest one in the party."

* * *

><p>Rhythmi shifted her backpack into a more comfortable position. She just had a few more stalls to check out before she headed back to the school. She was at the very edge of the market, planning on checking out a berry stall, when she heard a very loud and actually rather terrified voice screech:<p>

"RHYYYYYTHMIIIIIIIII!"

Rhythmi turned towards the sky and, to her alarm, saw something with long flailing limbs waving about clinging to the foot of a disgruntled Staraptor. When it was almost on top of her, it let go and crashed her into the dirt ground.

"Ow..." she groaned, sitting up.

"GET BACK HERE YOU DARN STARAPTOR!"

The thing that collided with her started chasing...correction, limping after the disappearing Staraptor. That was when she recognised it.

"Keith?"

Keith spun around, looked confused for a few seconds and then grinned.

"Rhythmi! You're here!" He cheered, punching the air "I did it! I held on all the way to Vientown! Ha! That's five dollars for me Kate!"

Rhythmi just stared at him strangely as she got to her feet.

"Keith, what have you blown up?" she asked, dead serious.

Keith gasped dramatically, reaching forward and grabbing both her hands. "No no no!" he gabbled "Kel's really really really really really really really sick! Gasp! He could even be dead!"

Rhythmi frowned and was about to ask why he said the word gasp rather than gasping it, but decided she would just get another strange answer, so she tried something else.

"Keith" she sighed "What have we told you about accepting white powder from strange men?"

Keith looked highly offended and yelped: "I'm not on narcotics! Kel's seriously ill!"

Now Rhythmi seemed to take him a little more seriously. "What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know! I'm not a medic!" Keith threw his hands into the air.

"Well neither am I" Rhythmi pointed out "I just know first aid."

Keith paused for a second before lowering his hands. "Good point" he admitted "Well, I dunno. He's unconscious and got a fever. And Starlight claimed he was throwing up before I left. I decided against checking."

"How noble of you" Rhythmi sighed, shifting her backpack and hoping everything in it wasn't crushed by Keith landing on her "Alright. If he's that bad I'll come back now. He needs someone other than the Three Stooges playing nurse."

Keith just nodded hurriedly, grabbed her wrist and dragging her back towards the school, not even noticing she'd called him a stooge. But soon Rhythmi was able to overtake him, for a simple reason.

"You're limping" she commented.

As if he had just realised this, Keith looked down at his leg and frowned.

"Ah Mew!" he groaned "Janice is gonna kill me!"

Rhythmi sighed and took the arm on the 'injured' side, looping it around her shoulders. "Happy now?"

Keith furiously shook his head.

"Well too bad! Start hopping!"

The method worked...for several steps...well, maybe more like three.

"Sorry" Keith groaned, helping Rhythmi to her feet after he'd fallen on top of her again.

Rhythmi sighed and decided to make an offer. "You know what, how about I just go ahead? You can come back in your own time."

Keith looked like he wanted object, but then he stopped short and sighed. "Fine" he grumbled "Just make sure he gets better, okay?"

Rhythmi nodded determinedly, running down the path by herself with her high heels clack clack clacking on the ground.

Keith watched her go before sighing and attempting to hop after her. Key word: attempting.

* * *

><p>Rhythmi was at the ranger school's gates in less than five minutes. The door to the courtyard was locked for some reason, so Rhythmi had to frantically bang on it and hope everything was okay in there. It took at least three nerve-wracking minutes for someone to open the door.<p>

"Kate!" Rhythmi jumped to her feet (she'd been sitting on the doorstep like a random homeless person) and whirled around to face the ginger who was partially hidden by the half-opened door. "Where's Kellyn?! Is he okay?!"

"I guess Keith found you" Kate was strangely quiet "That's good. Kelly's okay. He's stopped throwing up, but we don't know if that's good or not. So, er..." Kate nervously stretched the back of her head. "That's why we need someone who knows something about first aid."

Rhythmi folded her arms. "How much are you paying for my services?"

"Er...well, I'm broke" Kate reasoned rather slowly "Don't suppose I can pay you in shortbread?"

Rhythmi blinked, then realised Kate was holding a bar of shortbread and there were crumbs around her mouth.

"Leftovers" Kate clarified "Starlight and I were having them."

Rhythmi just nodded, rather slowly, unsure of what to say. Have everyone gone mad? Was Kellyn dying from lunie disease?

"Now will you help us?" Kate requested.

"For shortbread, no. For the good of Kellyn's health, yes." Rhythmi tried to push open the door to get in, but Kate blocked her path.

"I-I don't know if you should" she said nervously "W-We don't know if it's contagious."

Rhythmi sighed. "Well can you guys come out here?" she tried.

Kate paused for a moment before calling over her shoulder: "Starlight! Rhythmi's here!"

Mere seconds later, Starlight poked his head out the door. After checking the outside world was 'safe', he stepped out fully. There was a clothes line peg on his nose and his silver hair was tied up in a higher ponytail than usual. His hands and cuffs were wet and he wore some of those dispensable shoe-covers you get at swimming pools over his boots.

"Oh thank Arceus" he muttered. He quickly shed his strange attire, throwing the shoe-covers and peg through the door behind him before closing it.

"Dare I ask?" Rhythmi blinked.

"I'm gonna go and say it's antifreeze" Starlight decided "Whatever he's eaten, I swear it's toxic!"

"So, you think he's eaten something?" Rhythmi asked.

Starlight nodded.

"He had been throwing up a lot" Kate agreed.

"That's good" Rhythmi told them "If he has been poisoned, throwing up means the body's trying to get rid of it. You know, like how people throw up if they've had too much alcohol." Starlight and Kate eagerly fixed their eyes on her, drinking in the information. "When was the last time he ate?"

"Er, well, Mr Kincaid kept him, Keith and Ponte in an all-day detention yesterday" Kate pondered out loud "So it would've been yesterday breakfast. Poor guy." Then she frowned. "Why was Kellyn in all-day detention yesterday anyway?"

"It was all Keith and Ponte" Starlight sighed "Kellyn was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Kate seemed to accept this explanation.

"So he hasn't eaten for over a day?" Rhythmi asked, trying to get them back on topic. She knew Kate was capable of starting a conversation about Luxrays and end it on jam and pancakes; even Kate herself wasn't sure where that trail of thought came from.

"Well" Starlight pondered "He was on his own for half-an-hour before I found him unconscious."

"Hmmm" Rhythmi tapped her chin, her head on a side angle "Can you show me where you found him?"

Starlight nodded and turned to head up the bank towards the forest. Rhythmi followed him and, after once last worried glance towards the common room building, so did Kate. The three headed up the bank to the fringe of the forest, and beside a bush with dark-blue berries, he stopped.

"Here" he explained "I found him by this blueberry bush."

Rhythmi frowned and picked one of berries off the bush. She examined it and shook her head.

"This isn't a blueberry" she frowned "It's a Nea berry."

Kate and Starlight blinked.

"How can you tell?" the latter asked.

"See the green dots?" Rhythmi handed them the berry sure enough, when you looked closely, you could see small green dots pin-pricking the surface. "Ladies and gentleman, I believe we've found our culprit." When the others stared at her in confusion, she sighed and explained further: "Nea berries are poisonous when ingested by humans. But just as you say, they look a lot like blueberries. So lots of people get poisoned by them every year. They're not fatal - but they might cause a bit of discomfort. Eating a few of them could knock you out like a light. The thing is..." Rhythmi trailed off.

"Thing is what?" Kate prompted.

Rhythmi exhaled. "Nea berries don't grow in Southern Almia."

Kate and Starlight some-what stared at her - but they'd been doing that for a while so it was hardly any different.

"You find a few around the northern edge of Pueltown and Union Road" Rhythmi added "But there shouldn't be any here. Too warm."

"So" Starlight paused as tried to find a way to ask this bluntly, but not scare Kate off her wits end "You're saying this bush was purposely planted here?"

An awkward silence passed between the three of them as they took in this information.

"You guys don't think...Kellyn was purposely poisoned...do you?" Kate's voice was just above a whisper.

No one answered.

However, after a few seconds, Starlight dipped down and started picking all the Nea berries off the bush. No words were spoken, but the girls both moved to help him. Before long, all the Nea berries had been picked off the bush and were collected in a bundle in Starlight's arms.

"What do we do with them?" Kate asked in a small voice.

"I'm gonna burn 'em" Starlight explained.

He headed back down the bank, Rhythmi and Kate just behind him.

"He'll be okay, won't he?" Kate asked the blonde beside her "Kelly?"

"Uh-huh!" Rhythmi smiled at her "The antidote's simple - all the berries needed are in here!" She patted her backpack, then frowned. "Now I just have to hope they're not all squished, not thanks to Keith."

That promised a laugh out of Kate. She wasn't completely cheered up again - she wouldn't until Kellyn was awake and smiling again - but it was dose enough for Rhythmi.

And as the sun started to set, everything was peacef...

"Wait a minute!" Kate gasped "We forgot Keith!"

The others looked at each other in panic.

* * *

><p>On the path to Ranger School, Keith was still hopping along...or should I say failing to hop along. As the sun started to set, he tripped again and landed on his face. Finally he scrunched his face and threw his head back towards the pale sky whilst he lay pitifully on the ground.<p>

"WHY ME?!


	33. The Betwixt and Between

**"W_e_ll you're not acting very friendly!"**

**"****No one expects you to do this by yourself."**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Protector of Silence <strong>

**Chapter Thirty-Three - The Betwixt and Between**

Kellyn let out a happy sigh as he felt the sun fall on his pale face. The breeze made the slight tail of his cloak flap against his jeans as he stepped outside the courtyard, the long grass reaching past his ankles. The world smelt fresh. Winter was gone, Spring was here.

Kellyn was outside. Why? Two reasons:

One: It was a nice day and after recovering from his poisoning he wanted some time to himself before the school came back that evening.

Two: He'd come downstairs after Rhythmi had delivered him some toast for breakfast to see how everyone was. He'd come down the stairs, turned the corner and ended up smack in the middle of World War Three. 'Nuff said.

It wasn't until he was near the middle of the field he realised something was up. There were no Pokémon in sight, no birds chirping, no wind beyond a gentle breeze rolling along the ground. The whole air was eerily quiet.

'_Too quiet_' Kellyn curled his fingers into fists '_Something bad is going to happen. I know it_.'

Kellyn had no idea how right he was.

He froze as he heard something behind him. It sounded like storm clouds - electricity crackling in a confined space. Then, just as he was about to turn around, the pressure was released in a loud bang. The bang scared Kellyn out of his wits and he jumped to face where it was coming from. He almost had a heart attack when he saw Hunter J standing there, a Banette floating near her shoulder. Behind them, a dark purple cloud folded in on itself before dissipating.

'_W-What_?!' Kellyn took a step back in shock. Then he slapped his hands over his mouth. '_H-How_?!_What's happening_?!' He hadn't spoken, yet somehow his thoughts were projected into the air. He didn't recognise the voice that spoke them - it was that was a small child, not someone his age.

"Hello Kellyn" J smirked. Kellyn took another half-step back in surprise. "That's right. I know your name. Is that such a surprise?"

'_What's happening_?' As Kellyn thought those words, the small child's voice spoke again. The voice rang through the tense air, shaking and scared.

J's smirked widened as she ever so slightly turned her head towards the Banette at her shoulder. "Banette can distort space in minor ways. For instance, it opened the corridor that brought me here." She turned her head back to Kellyn again. "Right now, it's taking the thoughts from your head and projecting them as sound into the air. It's not the only Pokémon that can do such things, but it's a personal favourite of mine."

'_I don't sound like that_' Kellyn narrowed his eyes '_I know I don't._'

"I have no control over that" J shrugged "That's the voice Banette chose for you." Kellyn was sure that was an insult.

"Maybe it is."

'_Cryptic_.'

J glared at him.

'_...ah...stupid Banette_.'

The Banette glared at him. It growled too.

'_...I'm already starting to dislike this_.'

Having had enough of the lack of being able to think without his thoughts being shared for the whole world to hear if it wished so, Kellyn tried to make a break for the school building. He'd barely moved a step when he found himself on the wrong end of a gauntlet. At the sound of clicking from the device, Kellyn abruptly froze. He'd taken his chances with that thing once and he didn't feel like doing so again.

'_Why didn't I bring Luna with me_?' he gritted his teeth '_Why didn't I just wait for the others_? _Why_?'

"Luna" J raised a fine eyebrow "Is that the name of that girl you're always with?" Kellyn's very core froze. "Watching the sunset together with that strange boy. How so very poetic." Kellyn was so horrified he didn't know what to do. J had been spying on him? She'd been spying on him and Starlight and Kate?!

"Kate. Why, what a pretty name that is."

Dah! He'd mentioned Kate's name! Who knows what this maniac could do with that?!

"If you don't offend me, I won't offend you."

'..._still a maniac_.'

J gave a sigh that plainly said 'this isn't working'. The question was _what_ wasn't working?

"As delightful as this is, I didn't come here to trade insults" she explained "I came here with a proposition. You come with me, and your little friends remain unharmed." Kellyn gritted his teeth and immediately shook his head. "Come on. I promise it won't hurt." She extended a hand towards him. "Well, that much." Kellyn took a half-step backwards, debating whether he should run or pray he didn't think anything to make J fire her gauntlet.

Just as he was about to bolt, something made him freeze. The sound of one of Banette's corridors opening. But J wasn't escaping: this corridor was opening behind him. Making sure to keep one eye on J, he looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, a corridor was open a few metres behind him. This corridor wasn't black though. This one was a sparkling gold vortex - like a doorway to light.

"This way! Quickly!" The voice was that was a young female - probably in her mid-teens. She was whispering hurriedly, as if beckoning him. "Believe in yourself! Come on! Hurry!"

Kellyn swayed on the spot, unsure of what to do. If he ran, he could make it to the doorway and pray J wouldn't follow him. But who knows where that thing led. J, as if she realised her prisoner was on the verge of escaping, quickly stepped up her game:

"You and I are both searching for something. I believe I can help you find it. We don't have to be enemies. We could be friends."

Something about that made Kellyn snap. The thought of being compared to J made something in his heart burn with anger. In a split second, he made his choice.

'_Well you're not acting very friendly_!' He put as much power into that thought as possible, making sure J understand _exactly _how he felt. Turning on his heels, he sprinted forward and felt a relaxing warmth come over him as he dashed through the portal.

J was about to run after him when the sparkles crunched in on themselves and faded in a puff of gold smoke. She growled, balling her leather-gloved fists.

"You!" she yelled at nothing in particular "You'll pay for this, Owari!"

* * *

><p>Travelling through the portal wasn't the most comforting of situations for Kellyn. The walls (could they be called walls?) seemed to made of pulsating sparkles like golden tinfoil, whilst little gold sparkles flew as sharp as knives towards him, only to veer and miss him at the last second.<p>

Feeling a sense of weightlessness, Kellyn drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, eyes squeezing shut as tight as possible, hoping the ride would be over soon. Suddenly, the warmth was gone as well as the weightlessness. He didn't even have a second to prepare himself before the right side of his body impacted with the ground.

'_Ow_.' Kellyn pressed one hand to his aching head, eyes still shut, as he tried to sit up. All his limbs had gone numb and he could tell standing would be near impossible for a while.

"This is it? I knew Lunick was always a little illogical, but he certainly damaged his brain before choosing _this_."

At the sound of the rather offending voice, Kellyn head snapped up. Standing a few metres away from him was a man. A man in his early forties with eye-catching red-ginger hair and brown eyes that could rip one's soul to pieces just by looking at you.

'_W-Who are you_?' Kellyn tried to get to his feet, but slumped down again when he found his whole body had turned to jello. '_Did you bring me here_?'

"I am Jethro Fawkes, former Leader of Ringtown Ranger Base" the man huffed, apparently either angry or exasperated about something. "And no, I was simply informed you would be arriving here. Your little babysitter Owari is responsible for bringing you here, with help from that traitor to council who calls herself your father's best friend. Yes, the two of them have created so many imbalances in the time-space continuum I'm surprised Owari's not tearing what little hair he has out. You yourself disrupt time and space in such a way I'm even more surprised you haven't been disposed of yet." He looked to his left, over the expanse of nothingness. "That apprentice of mine... Always thought he was more than he really was. Attempting to go up against Dialga..." He shook his head in disbelief. In this time, Kellyn had shakily clambered to his feet, his knees knocking as they tried to support his weight.

'_What do you mean_?' he asked '_Your apprentice_? _Who's that_? _What do they have to with this_?'

Jethro looked dead hard at him. "One of your species does not have the need nor the right to know."

'_Hey_!' Kellyn fired back, his hands balling into fists '_You can't say that_!'

Almost immediately, Kellyn wished he hadn't said that. He wasn't aware how much control Jethro had as a fallen ranger over the betwixt and between. As Jethro's eyes narrowed into a glare, a harsh wind blew through the space, swooping up the fog as it moved. It smashed right into Kellyn's stomach, knocking the small boy off his feet and sending him skidding across the floor. His head smashed against the glass floor hard and he hissed in pain, clutching the spot where he was sure there was a bruise on his scalp.

"Huh" Jethro snorted as he walked away "Feckless neophyte. Why were we afraid of you? Your powers are nothing, worthless." Kellyn gritted his teeth, eyes squeezed shut again.

'_My powers are __**NOT**__ worthless_!' he growled inwardly, letting the space project his anger. '_What gives __**you**__ the right to say that_?!' Scrambling to his feet, he sprinted towards Jethro as fast as his legs would take him. He had no weapon, but he would jolly well give that guy a good right-hook to the face! Unfortunately, Jethro seemed to anticipate this. As Kellyn swung his right fist (rather pathetically to add to his frustration and embarrassment), Jethro ducked to avoid it and delivered a much harder blow to Kellyn's stomach. The force of the blow threw Kellyn into the air before he thudded painfully to the ground again.

"You have courage, I'll give you that" Jethro snorted "Too bad you have nothing to put behind it." Kellyn was barely listening. He was winded and trying to force air into his lungs. He shifted slightly and he heard the glass beneath him made a cracking sound, but he had stopped caring. All his emotions had been piled into one thought: teaching Jethro he was NOT WORTHLESS!

"If that's what you are so determined to believe." Ah. He'd forgotten about Jethro being able to hear what he's thinking. "Why can you not be anything like your father?"

The words only registered in Kellyn's brain for a second, but as he rolled onto his side to try and face Jethro, all thoughts about the words that had just been said flew out if his mind.

As his centre of gravity shifted, the floor finally gave way. The fog rolled over him, and then he was falling.

* * *

><p>"Here he is!"<p>

"..."

"Psst! Kellyn! Wake up!"

"..."

"Wake up! Come on!"

"...Just leave him. He'll be fine."

"Stop talking nonsense! If you're going to be here, make yourself useful! Help me here!"

"Relax. He's not gonna get decapitated. Owari will stop him from being lost in nothingness forever."

"Owari's busy rescuing Reo from a Russian Prisoner-Of-War camp!"

"...Do I want to know?"

"Probably not. Now help me get him into the next district!"

"..."

"Now!"

"Oh fine! Five minutes! No more!"

* * *

><p>Kellyn had been quite happy asleep. His dreams were calm, no nightmares, and he was rather content. That was until he felt someone grip the back of his head and pulled extremely hard on his short hair.<p>

'_Yow_!' his thoughts yelped as he flinched, unable to pull away or face more pain '_Let go, let go, let go_!'

"Lind stop it!"

"What? He's waking up isn't he?"

"He is not Freddie! He does not have long hair! You can't wake him up like this! Now let go before you rip his brain out!"

"His father had long hair."

"He is not his father! And he didn't always have long hair. Now let go of the poor boy or I'll kick ya!"

"Oh. I am so scared. I am trembling in my boots."

"LIND!"

"Oh fine! Whatever!"

Finally whoever had been gripping Kellyn's hair let go, making the boy gasp with relief. As he cautiously opened his eyes, he saw he was lying on the floor of a limbo identical to last one. However, Jethro was not in this one. Instead, two even stranger people were.

The first Kellyn saw was obviously the one who had pulled his hair. He was moving to sit on a log that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. At first Kellyn thought the boy was Owari, but he quickly realised it wasn't. This boy was significantly bigger than Owari, and he had icier blue eyes. Plus the boy was wearing a Fall City ranger uniform.

The girl standing up was the boy's exact opposite. She was about 15 with long slightly-curly brown hair and the warmest of chocolate-button eyes. She wasn't wearing a ranger uniform - instead her whole outfit from her frilly shirt to her long skirt seemed to consist of pink - but she had a ranger's badge at her hip.

'_Who are __**you**_?' Kellyn furrowed his brow, looking back and forth between the girl and the boy. The girl smiled and took a few steps towards you.

"Hello Kellyn!" she smiled. Kellyn didn't question why she knew his name. It seems everybody who was somebody knew his name these days. "My name is Lark. That," she gestured her arm in the direction of the boy "is Lind. Don't mind him, he's a jerk." Lind grunted, folding his arms and legs. "Don't be afraid, we came to help you!"

"She means _she_ came to help you" Lind grunted, taking a sip from a coffee mug which had seemingly appeared from thin air like the log. Don't ask me what he was drinking or where he got it from, I don't think _I_ want to know.

"Oh really" Lark took a very different stance as she spun round to face her companion "So what did you come here for? Revenge on Jethro?"

"Oh please" Lind rolled his eyes "Revenge is _so_ overrated!" Rolling her own eyes, Lark turned back to Kellyn. But just as she opened her mouth to speak, Lind shot one last remark. "Besides, I have much better things to do than babysit a mute and a pink princess, so you should be grateful."

Kellyn guessed that was the last straw.

"Begone, you have no power here!" was the dramatic comeback. Lark whirled around again and pointed one pink-painted nail in Lind's face. The boy's pupils dilated as they stared at the offending object inches away from his nose.

"Okay okay! I get the point!" he yelped, moving Lark's nail away from his face with his finger.

Kellyn stared at them both strangely, not quite sure of what do.

'_These guys are stranger than Keith and Liam_' he frowned.

"I resent that!" Lind barked, pointing an accusing finger at him. Kellyn suddenly realised something.

'_It's you_!' his eyes widened '_You're that voice_! _The one that stopped me from getting into Keith's mind_! _It was you_!' Lind leant back, folding his arms behind his head (how his drink didn't spill is another mystery that shall never be solved in the vast expanses of the universe).

"Yeah" he grunted.

Silence.

Well, it appears that's all Lind has to say on the matter. As Kellyn thought more, he realised something else, and could only pray he didn't get as short a response for this one as he had for Lind's question.

'_Were you the voice that guided me here_?' this question was directed towards Lark. The girl with the pleasant smile nodded.

"Owari regrets he can't be here - he has to sort out a serious imbalance in the Cretaceous period" she explained "But he has allowed us use of this sector of the betwixt and between, and has given you the power of thought-projection whilst you remain here." Kellyn twisted so his legs were folded beneath him, turning his head to look around the white limbo. It really was a void of nothingness, just white fog as far as the eye could see.

'_So, this is the betwixt and between_?' he asked. Lark nodded in confirmation. '_But, what is it_?'

"Hmmm" Lark tapped her chin with her finger in thought "Well, it's nothing and nowhere, really. It's a realm of boundaries and gateways. It's owned by Arceus, like most worlds, but the betwixt and between is often considered to be under the rule of his messenger: Owari."

'_Owari_?' Kellyn raised an eyebrow '_Arceus' messenger_?'

"Yes" Lark continued to smile with a nod "All the legendary Pokémon such as Arceus and Dialga have messengers. All of them a child who has lost their life in a way that has forbidden them to pass on to the next life or to Giratina's realm. Owari is Arceus'." She looked around, as if surveying their rather dull surroundings. "This is a place for Owari to call home. A sanctuary. He often allows other messengers or members of the council to pass through here though. As well as psychic beings."

'_Why psychic beings_?' Kellyn questioned after a moment's pause '_Why are we special_?'

Lark bent down so she could look Kellyn in the eye. "Every psychic being has a piece of the betwixt and between in them. You included. In every case, this small piece tries to find a way to manifest itself. It's what stains your pupils white." She straightened again, arms folded behind her back, gaze towards the endless horizon. "When psychic beings call their powers forth, the white spreads into their irises, as the piece requires more manifestation to boot up, if you will. This is why your eyes dim in colour - they are trying to return to the colour of the betwixt and between that their power came from."

"In short, you're all alien freaks who have a piece of absolute nothingness embedded in their head." Guesses who that was.

As if the moment had been spoilt (more like crippled), the serene look on Lark's face faded into a cross between extreme frustration and anger. She whirled around to face Lind, towering over him as he sat on the log apparently made of nothingness. (How was he sitting on it then? Again, Lind has refused to answer questioning on how he manages to defy the laws of physics other than: "I'm dead. This conversation alone defies the laws of physics.")

"Lind, button your mouth, please!" she ground out, though she was clearly more frustrated than her voice was betraying her to be.

Lind shrugged, taking another sip of...something. "Fine. If you shut your trap, I will too, Miss Know-It-All."

"Ooooh!" Lark tightened her fists, vibrating out of sheer frustration and anger. Then, with no warning at all, she snapped: "Stuff it Lind!"

Lind was apparently surprised by the comeback, but not so surprised he couldn't come up with his own: "Well how about you stuff it!"

"Don't you talk to me like that, young man!"

"What?! You're not my mother! You're only, like, twelve years older than me!"

"Well they're twelve very important years! Now stop yapping and shut up!"

Kellyn blinked, looking back and forth between the two, wondering if they were _ever_ going stop arguing.

"Well why don't you shut up, will ya!"

"I will when you stop yelling!"

"You're the one that's yelling!"

"STOP BEING A BRAT!"

"See, you _are_ yelling!"

"NO I'M NOT, LIND!"

...apparently not.

"See, this is why I don't go on these little trips with you" Lind reached into his mug and pulled out a sugar cube that somehow hadn't dissolved in his drink (and once again Lind chooses to defy the laws of psychics and instead kick them out the window into next Thursday). He crushed the sugar cube between his thumb and finger and let the little granules fall into the beverage (it appeared it wasn't alcoholic at least).

"Hey, you're the one who falls for it _every_ time" Lark snipped back "Maybe you are as much as a sap as Lunick says you are." Lind growled, clenching the handle of his mug so hard it almost cracked off.

"I will kill you with this mug" he warned "Seriously, you're first on my list."

'_You know Lunick_?' At this projected thought, the two arguing turned their heads to look at their rather confused visitor. Lark shot Lind one last glare before deciding to ignore him and walking back over to Kellyn.

"Useless" Lark muttered with a shake of her head, before putting on a friendly smile as she dragged Kellyn to his feet. "Of course, Lunick is a part of the council. Just as we are."

"When he bothers to turn up" Lind muttered. Lark sighed but didn't retaliate. She brought Kellyn over to the log and sat in between her and Lind. Kellyn unconsciously sighed in contentment. He could feel the light radiating off these two people. Whoever they were, they were certainly very special.

"Lunick's like a brother to us" Lark explained "After joining the council, we three agreed to stand by each other no matter what. We don't have it in our hearts to lay a finger on you. It would be like killing family - psychic or not." Kellyn looked down towards his feet.

'_It doesn't seem like everyone's so accepting_' he stated. Lark sighed, looping an arm around his shoulders and letting him lean into her.

"We're truly sorry about Jethro" she apologised "He reached out and dragged you away from us. You were never supposed to meet him. I'm so sorry." Kellyn let his eyes fall shut, feeling sleepy.

"I agree with you, he's a total jerk" Lind smirked, throwing the mug of stuff over his shoulder, a shattering sound coming from the area behind him.

Kellyn startled awake again. '_How'd you know I thought..._?'

Lind tapped his temple. Kellyn groaned.

'_At least other kids get to pretend they have privacy_' he thought '_I don't even get given __**that **__reserve_.'

"I can still hear you, ya know."

'..._And that just proves my point_.'

Lind chuckled. "You're some kid. The council have great fear of you."

"That's right, Kellyn" Lark turned her head to look him in the eyes as much as possible "You have control over powers that they do not. They're scared of you. All of them. Jethro included." She moved the hand on his shoulder to grip his arm, thin enough to be a twig in her hand. "You're special. And perhaps the answer to everything."

'_No I'm not_' Kellyn ducked his head, refusing to meet either of their gazes '_I'm weak, and useless. I can't fight my own battles, let alone other people's. I'm just a freak of a mute who..._' He clenched his jaw, screwing his eyes shut to prevent the tears from leaking out. '_...who was never supposed to exist. I can't be the answer to everything - because that would mean there was never supposed to be an answer_.'

Silence followed this. Lark and Lind didn't say anything, which Kellyn took to mean they agreed with him. A tear escaped his eye as he tried to make himself as small as possible, trying to get the world to stop noticing him. So he was no longer odd, special, now just some face on the street.

A thumb rubbed his cheek, wiping his tear away. He felt someone (he presumed it was Lark) wrap their arms around him and hold him close to them. His fingers felt fabric and they curled around it, gripping it in a death-grip as a hand ran through his hair. Suddenly, it was like the tears wouldn't stop, the same hand rubbing circles on his back as he broke down into chokes and sobs.

"No one expects you to do this by yourself" he heard Lark whisper close to his ear "You're just a child. You're too fragile now. But you'll understand in time. You're more special than you can ever realise. But remember, you're not going to go through this alone."

Lark said no more. Lind never spoke. They never got the chance.

Kellyn bolted upright with fear as a sound began to rip through the betwixt and between. He knew that sound, and was paralysed with fear as a familiar black shadow began to form in front of him.

Lind jumped to his feet. "What's she doing here?! How dare she?!" He ran forward towards the portal, only for Hunter J to emerge and knock him aside like a rag doll.

"There you are" J clucked her tongue, looking right at Kellyn. The broken tears on his face turned to tears of pure fear. Lark immediately let go of him and leapt to her feet.

"Leave him alone!" she barked. She might have said more, if J's Banette hadn't emerged from the portal then. All the colour in Lark's face drained as she was forced away from Kellyn, backing up as much as possible to get away from the ghost Pokémon.

"Spirits" J shook her head with something akin to disapproval, walking towards the psychic being. Kellyn felt the log beneath him start to dissipate now Lind and Lark weren't on it and he jumped to his feet, raising his arms up to his head to shield himself. However, he felt J grip his wrist and pull him forwards, nearly tripping him in the process.

'_Let go of me_!' he mentally yelped, struggling as much as possible. He didn't want to go with her. He didn't want to go into that portal.

"Shut up!" J hissed, her evil eyes glaring daggers into him. Kellyn tried to blow her backwards or create some kind of illusion in order to get away, but his mind had gone blank with fear. The fear doubled as he felt a harsh sting on his cheek and his head was forced to to the right by a slap so hard it would've knocked him down if J wasn't holding onto his wrist. He lost the ability to cry as he was pulled into the cold and darkness, complete opposite to the warmth and comfort of Owari's portal. None the less, he kept struggling, and would've screamed if he could.

Screwing his eyes shut, Kellyn did the only thing he could. He bit J's wrist - hard. The hunter hissed with a mixture of what appeared to be pain and surprise, letting go of Kellyn's own wrist.

It was as if a spell had been broken. Automatically Kellyn was in free fall. His hands scrabbled for something to hold onto, not even daring to open his eyes.

'_I'm going to die_.' The thought coiled around his brain like a snake, numbing him to everything but the fear.

"KELLYN!"

"**_LUXRAY!_**"

Suddenly, Kellyn's fall was broken as he landed front-first on the back of what appeared to be a running Pokémon. His heart still raced at an impossible speed, making movement unthinkable. He was just able to open his eyes.

What he saw stayed with him from the rest of his life. He saw a figure walking away from him towards the light, leaving the darkness. He couldn't see much, but his mind screamed one name that chilled him to his core.

'_C-Can it be_?'

He didn't have time to look back and double check, because at that moment, his saviour carried him out of the darkness into the light.

* * *

><p>Kellyn hated landing. Because these days, all he ever landed on was his face.<p>

"Whoa! Kel! What was all that about?!" Oh great! Kellyn looked up from his face-full of grass and found, to his utter disappointment, Keith was standing there, staring down at him with wide eyes.

'_Just help me up moron_!' Kellyn groaned. Keith didn't react, just continued to stare at him. Kellyn's frustration faded away slightly. '_Okay, the thought translator thing's gone_.' He held out his arm, and Keith helped him to his feet, still staring at him.

"Did you do that?" Keith was practically gaping at him. Kellyn blinked, not quite understanding. "Don't look at me like that?! You know what I mean!" Keith began flapping his arms around in the air to make his point. "It was shining, then it was shimmering, and then WHOOOSH! It disappeared and you were there! You know what I mean, right?!"

'_He means the portal I guess_' Kellyn assimilated. He looked over his shoulder, but sure enough the portal was gone. The only thing there was a Luxray getting to it's feet - the same Luxray that had saved him. But Kellyn barely noticed this. He swallowed, remembering the retreating figure he had seen before the portal closed.

'_Was that really you_?

..._Lunick_?'

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, Hunter J stepped out of another one of Banette's corridors into a bare white room. The only thing that wasn't white was the golden statue in front of her.<p>

"Lunick" she tested the name on her tongue for the first time in a long time. Then she smirked. "We'll see." She locked eyes with the statue. Though the golden surface didn't move, J could feel the eyes behind it glare. "Then _you'll_ get the chance to see your little friend fall."


	34. Battle in the between

**"I will Not. Let. You. Insult. My. Friends!"**

**"Wow, I can't believe that worked."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Thirty-Four - Battle in the between**

Imagine a day where everything is completely serene. No yelling, no fighting, no anger. No flames of war nor shouts of rebellion. No roaring aeroplanes, no cars honking, no trains whooshing past at a trillion miles an hour and making enough noise to wake up the neighbouring district. Just a quiet, peaceful day where you can relax and rejuvenate. Or, as peaceful as it could get in the Betwixt and Between. Which is pretty peaceful, considering the only thing that disrupted the layer of calm white fog was the occasional messenger or legendary passing through. A place where everything was at peace...

Yeah. It was nothing like that.

Two portals ripped through the space with noise akin to a crashing freight train. Two very different people stepped out of said portals, however they both shared the same emotion.

J leant a little to the left to dodge an icicle that had been aimed for the centre of her forehead. "Nice to see you too. How's your day going?"

"Cut the crap!" Lunick hissed, throwing another icicle that J just ducked to avoid "Do not try me! I am not in the mood for this right now."

"Aren't you always?" J sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She didn't want to deal with Lunick when he was in this mood - nobody did. "How did that girlfriend of yours cope with you, seriously?" Another icicle. "How original."

Lunick tightened his hand into a fist, not wanting to waste any more energy on icicles. He felt the urge to hit her. J was the only female he'd ever had the urge to hit before...unless Freddie counted as a girl. If that was the case, he'd felt the urge to hit a girl _many_ times before.

"You know what I came to confront you about" he said through gritted teeth. J raised an eyebrow ever so slightly.

"To be honest, no" she snipped back "The hero girl or the worthless mute?"

As J smirked, Lunick found his eyes narrowing and flickering. His fists clenched as he tried to hold the fire back, but not before several flames escaped his palms, starting a small fireworks show. J's smirk faded ever so slightly, looking apprehensive. Drawing the flames back into his body, Lunick took several deep breaths to calm himself.

"Touch my brother again and I'll burn you" he warned.

"Burn me eh?" J raised an eyebrow "That's a new one. Is Lunie still trying to protect his precious Kelly behind the backs of the council? You, the hero girl, Princess Perfect and the useless replacement. What a joke."

"ENOUGH!" Lunick finally snapped. Fire flared from his fists like sparklers until both his arms and shoulders were encased in fire. He leapt forwards, aiming to strick J from the air. Seeing she had taken things too far, J jumped out the way before Lunick could strike her and instead his fist hit the ground. The glass surface briefly scorched where the former ranger's burning knuckles had hit it, but a new layer of fog rolled over and it was quickly hidden from view.

Not letting it faze him, Lunick jumped back again, fully intent on taking J on head-on. J though had already load her gauntlet and launched it. Immediately, Lunick raised his palms and flames erupted from them in the same way a Fire Blast attack might. The flames acted as a shield and immediately incinerated the gauntlet's attack. Not slowing for even a second, Lunick sprung forward again and lashed out at the hunter, but she quickly jumped out of the way.

"Backtalk me all you like, I don't care" Lunick seethed, lashing out again and again "But I will Not. Let. You. Insult. My. Friends!" With each word, he lashed out at the one person he hated the most. But each time, J was able to jump back out the way. She was surprised Lunick had kept his powers going for one spell this long, but anger seemed to be fuelling his will to fight. To throw him off, she blasted a long strip of the ground with her gauntlet, crystallising it. Caught off guard by this, Lunick jumped back, allowing J to get her breath back. She didn't give _him_ a chance to do so though. The second she saw he had his footing, she fired at him. Lunick raised his palms again, ready to block the oncoming attack...

"STOP IT!"

A harsh bitter-cold wind blew through the space, ripping the fire from Lunick's arms and shattering the gauntlet's shot into a thousand tiny gold and white particles.

Both heads snapped towards the right. There was a small flash of gold light and a third figure was visible walking towards them. His dark-blue eyes were narrowed dangerously and his hair seemed even spikier than normal as if it was reacting to the tension in the air. He did not look happy.

"Owa-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Owari threw his hand out in an almost dismissive motion. Both Lunick and J were blow backwards; the latter landed on her rear whilst Lunick managed to somersault and land on his feet.

"How dare you fight in the betwixt and between!" Owari was practically spitting with anger "This is my domain! GET OUT!" He opened a portal beneath the two. J fell through and out of sight, but Lunick managed to spring to safety. Well, most of him anyway.

"Oh peanuts, my shoe" he grumbled, looking at his shoeless foot. Owari sighed and snapped his fingers. A small portal opened above Lunick's head and his missing shoe dropped down.

"Ow!" Lunick rubbed his head and then put his shoe back on "Was that _really_ necessary?"

"You want me to send you where she went?" Owari threatened.

"Nah, I'm good."

"No, you're cocky."

"Well...you're a brat!"

Owari raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Hajime's given me way worse than that. Hwita too. I'm not Lark - I won't crack with that."

Lunick ground his teeth together. Owari could be as annoying as J if he wanted to be.

"Where is she?" he asked, anger and frustration laced in his voice.

"Hmmm" Owari rested his chin between his forefinger and thumb, his elbow on the knuckle of his other hand in the classic 'thinking' pose. "She's where she's always been. Not here, not there. Not in Giratina's realm, but balancing on the edge of it."

"Stop being so damn cryptic!" Lunick shouted back. Owari tut-tutted and shook his head.

"You need to wash your mouth, Lunick" he stated "Do you have soap, or would you like to borrow mine?" Lunick let out a roar of frustration and accidentally blasted a lightning bolt across the foggy space.

"Forget it! You're not worth it!" he seethed, ripping open a portal "If anything happens to Kellyn, I'm blaming you! And I promise you, when I track you down, it won't be pretty!" Owari's smirk following this didn't help matters.

As Lunick hastily left, Owari turned to leave. But as he did, he saw a silver orb slowly form in the space not far from where he stood.

"Oh minstrels, not you!" he mumbled. As he tried to leave, the orb grew into a ripple of silver light. When it faded, a second person stood within the betwixt and between. She was a girl of about fifteen, with long silver hair that partially fell over her pale-blue eyes. She wore cream sleeveless jacket with a black shirt with white sleeves under it, as well as a pair of jeans, grey trainers and a dark-blue ring with a celtic design on it on the little finger of her right hand. She was very tall and, with her arms folded and eyes narrowed, very intimidating.

"You've got two choices Owari" she began with an accent that strangely failed to pronounce any of the Ts in her words, but that didn't stop her from sounding scary "Either you come with me voluntarily, or I'll time-stop you and drag you to the Realm of Time by your collar!"

"Yeah right" Owari snorted, casually stuffing his hands in his pockets to cover up his urge to run for his dear life "Time doesn't touch me, just like it doesn't affect you, Hwin." The girl's eyes narrowed so much they looked almost closed.

"Stop callin' me that!" she hissed "My name is Hwita! Pronounced 'h-way-a'!"

"Alright alright, whatever you say Hwin" Owari rolled his eyes. Hwita did not look happy.

"I will time-stop ya" she warned. Owari just grinned smugly back.

"You realise when you say 'time', it actually comes out as just 'ime'." And once again Owari had the upper hand. But then he saw the glare Hwita was giving him and decided to find something to talk about, rather hurriedly.

"So...what were you doing before you came here?" he tried. Small-talk seemed the easiest way to go.

"Putting Reo back in his place" Hwita answered, rather stiffly "You'll be glad to know he and Deoxys won't destroy Neptune with their fighting." Owari blinked, wondering what Palkia's messenger had done now. On the other hand, this was Reo; it was sometimes easier to just leave certain messed-up brains alone - Reo was one of them.

"So you're not the only one incapable of doing your job correctly it seems" Owari smirked. Hold up a penny between your forefinger and thumb. Then remove the penny and keep your fingers that far apart. That's how close Hwita was to loosing it with Owari.

"Listen here, midget" she ground out "You are coming with me, or I _will_ take you back to London, September 1666 and leave you there! This time I'm serious and I— don't even think of stepping into that portal, mister!"

Owari cursed under his breath as Hwita noticed the portal he'd opened several metres behind him in order to make a hasty exit.

"So who put you in charge?" he counted "Last time I checked, Arceus was top of the food chain."

"Well, that doesn't mean _you_ are" Hwita countered. Owari tried his best to find some way out of this sticky situation. He bit his lip. He'd didn't want to do this, and Hwita and Azrael would bring about his second death afterwards, but it was the only thing he could think of. He didn't have time to be lectured by Dialga - in about two weeks he would have a minefield of imbalances to fix, so he had some catching up to do before then. And this was the only way he was going to accomplish that.

"You know, I was speaking to Azrael the other day" he lied. Hwita immediately perked up, looking like a big sister who had asked their little brother to spy on their crush for them and they were now reporting back. Actually, this was pretty similar to what was going on.

"What did he say?" she asked, rather hurriedly.

"Heh, you know" Owari shrugged, folding his arms behind his back and absentmindedly brushing the sole of his (brand spanking new!) trainer along the floor.

"No, I don't know!" Hwita was almost panicking now. Owari rolled his eyes.

'_I can't believe this_' he thought, unable to comprehend what Hwita saw in Giratina's messenger. Then he sighed: "He said he thought your eyes were pretty."

The squeal Hwita let off was so ear-piercing it almost broke the glass floor and Owari actually covered his ears.

"Really?!" she squealed.

"Really" Owari nodded, albeit with less optimism than he would've liked. "Actually he's standing right behind you right now."

Hwita yelped and jumped at least a metre onto the air, whirling around to look behind.

Owari blinked in amazement. '_Wow, I can't believe that worked._'

He quickly made a break for the portal, hoping Hwita wouldn't follow him. He wanted to bet she would though. He began making of a list of places he knew Hwita wouldn't follow him.

'_I know she doesn't like Hollow Bastion_' he thought '_And it's been a while since I last saw Leon, Yuffie and the gang. But that would mean transcending the star barrier and navigating the multiverse_.' He inwardly grimaced. '_Not worth it. Especially if I run into Ventus and that lot. I'm not breaking my neck trying to escape stupid Hwita...speaking of Hwita, why don't I hear her following me_?' He didn't dwell on this thought too long though as he mentally ordered the portal to take him to the nearest accessible world.

"Dialga wants to see you." Hwita's words made Owari ground to a halt. He turned around and found she was just over a metre way from him, looking as if she hadn't moved. Stupid time travel!

"Yes, so does Genghis Khan, Mary Seacole, King Charles II, Franics Drake and Gordon Ramsey, all for different reasons, and I don't plan of visiting any of them" Owari informed her "Good day to you. Now go bother Azrael with your fangirl-ness or something." He hurried through the gold portal and it closed after him.

"Moron" Hwita sighed, shaking her head "Where'd he go anyway?" She pressed her forefingers to her temples and tried to track Owari through time to pin-point his location. It wasn't as easy as if _he_was tracking _her_, since she only had durostiction over time, but eventually she found him.

"Anchorage?" she blinked "What's he?...well I hope he packed a warm coat." As she search for a date, she smirked. "1964? Ah. Well I hope he likes earthquakes."

With that smirk still on her face, she opened her own silver portal out of the Betwixt and Between. Let Owari suffer on his own. She'd get him some other time. Being Diagla's messenger, she had plenty of said resource at her disposal to do so.

_Now_ everything was serene and peaceful.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, Kate sighed and leaned over the sofa arm, wrenching another tissue from the box. She handed the Kleenex to Kellyn, who was being stared at a bit strangely by everyone else in the common room.<p>

"Seriously, why are you sneezing so much today?" Keith blinked, tearing his gaze away from the latest Beyblade episode on TV. Kellyn shrugged and rubbed his nose with the tissue.

**I just have a feeling I'm being talked about a lot**


	35. The calm before the storm

**"I think I'm going to grow a mohawk."**

**"****Oh man! Get over it! It's just a pencil!"**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Thirty-Five - The calm before the storm**

May 10th. Despite the freezing grip of winter just a couple of months ago, the spring weather was swelteringly hot. Nick blamed global warming. Keith blamed the unfairness of life forcing them to remain indoors on a sunny day.

As you could imagine, the heat driving them inside had officially bored Keith. Several people had retreated to the library to study or were hanging around in the dorms after class, but Kate and Kellyn were reading some fiction novels in the common room. Or, trying to at least.

"I'm serious, what's a keet?!" Keith complained, flopping down on one of the armrests of the sofa Kellyn was sitting on. "Kincaid called me an annoying little keet this morning, and I need to know what it is so I can call him something as equally insulting back!" Kellyn sideways glared at him.

_**Reading**_ he signed _**Leave**_

"Weeeeell" Keith leaned over to look at book Kellyn was reading "Whatcha reading?" Kellyn awkwardly and rather grumpily shuffled away further down the sofa away from Keith.

"It's a fantasy novel" Kate stated, not even looking up from her own book "And a very good one at that. You wouldn't get it, Dazuru."

"You're right, I _don't_ get it. What's so amazing about fantasy books?" Keith muttered "Take Harry Potter for instance. It doesn't even make any sense!" This comment earned him a glare.

"Oh, so _now_ you actually listen to me…" Keith grunted.

**The only people who don't like fantasy are the ones without imagination**

Keith suppressed a grin at the attention he was getting. "Ouch. Getting defensive about a certain wizard who isn't magical enough to fix his eyesight?"

Kellyn sighed and pushed Keith off the sofa as roughly as possible. Kate giggled at the display.

"Hey!"

**Serves you right**

This indignant comeback forced Keith to look for attention elsewhere. In the meantime, Luna trotted into the common room from up the stairs, miraculously not being spotted by any teachers or students along the way. She jumped up onto the sofa with a small whine and curled up next to Kellyn, her front paws and lowered head on his thigh.

'_Heya_' he smiled down at her '_You get bored of playing with Shadow_?'

"_**He and Starlight had to go somewhere**_" she yawned "_**And it's too hot to do anything.**_" Her eyes closed as she started to doze. Kellyn tickled her behind her ear before returning to his book. Across the common room, at one of the tables, Verity punched a few more numbers into her calculator.

'_I wonder where everyone else is_' Kellyn couldn't help but think. His eyes suddenly widened as he stared at the page. '_Max's dead_?! _WHAT_?! _NOOOOOOOOO_!'

* * *

><p>"Hmm… I think I'm going to grow a mohawk" Liam decided, a hand-held mirror in one hand, running his other hand over his buzz-cut. Some people in the library shushed him. Nick, who was reading up on Water Pokémon Biology, was one of them.<p>

"What?" Sami looked up from her Nintendo at him "Why did you suddenly decide that you want a mohawk?" Liam paused, biting the corner of his lip in thought.

"…I dunno. Maybe because by shaving off all my hair, you've opened me up to brand-new experiences. Hair-styling experiences."

"I'm surrounded by idiots" mumbled Sami, returning to her Zoo Tycoon game. She grimaced as she saw how much money she had left and quickly sold the pizza stand. Some little people on the screen almost seemed to look up at her as if to say 'Oi! I was queuing for that!'

"What did I do?" Nick asked from his seat across the table "I didn't do anything yet."

"There you have it - yet. Your words, not mine."

Nick rolled his eyes, but leaned back in his chair, returning to his textbook.

"Dammit!" Sami hissed as the little notice informed her African Lion 2 had just had another cub. The other people in the library shushed her and shook their heads, but they didn't understand the dire situation. She was gonna have to expand the African Lion cage at this rate, and that would mean getting rid of her aviary.

Nick suddenly jerked upright and pulled his book-bag onto his lap. He rummaged through it for a bit, slapping a jotter onto the table, and then frowned deeply.

"Alright, who stole my pencil?" he demanded.

"Hmmm?" Liam and Sami looked up at him.

"Which one?" Liam asked "Don't you have, like, a bunch of them?"

"You know this one - it's the red one with all the Pikachu stickers on it and a Pichu rubber on top" Nick informed him "I swore I had it with me in Biology today..." Nick paused for nearly a minute, before he turned to glare at Liam. Sami noticed this and decided to glare at Liam too, but she wasn't sure why - she was just glaring at Liam because it gave her some self-satisfaction.

"What?" the blond looked at them both curiously.

"That's Rhythmi's mirror" Nick stated. Liam shrugged. "So what did you trade for it?" For Sami, the pin dropped.

"Liam..." she uttered a low growl.

"What?! I didn't take it! Honest!" Liam insisted, briefly lowering the mirror.

"Oh please, Liam!" Sami rolled her eyes "You wouldn't know honesty if I tied you up and smacked you with it!" Nick's eyes lit up with hope and he jumped to his feet.

"Alright then!" he grinned "You tie him up, I'll go find some honesty!" Liam rolled his eyes.

"Oh ha ha! Very funny!" he grumbled, returning his gaze to the stupid mirror.

The door blew open suddenly, causing everyone in the library to look up from their previous activities. In a whirl of black and green, Tamie whirled into the library, slamming the door behind her and leaning against it to keep it closed. She was panting heavily, as white as a sheet.

"Dare I ask?" Isaac asked, peering his head from around the bookshelf he was sitting behind. Tamie stared at them all, grey eyes wide with fear.

"If Becs comes in here, do not let her find me!" she yelped. Immediately, she bounded across the library over to a bookshelf with a tree-shaped cut-out stuck to the front of it. She scampered up to the top of the bookshelf, hiding as much as she could behind the 'leafy' top of the tree.

"Well...that was random" Sami blinked.

"No, that was normal" Nick grumbled as he sat down again, rolling his eyes as they returned to the page of his textbook since he couldn't take notes without his _awesome_ pencil. Sami returned back to her game, but had only stared at it for a few seconds before:

"ARGH! Dammit!"

"Shhhhhh!" Nick and Isaac both hissed.

"Sorry!" Sami hissed back. One of her elephants had broken through the cage and was running rampant.

"Okay guys, seriously" Nick folded his arms, tapping his foot against the floor "Where's my pencil?"

"Your superbly awesome pencil?" Liam enquired.

"Yes, Liam" Nick sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose "That pencil. Now where is it?!"

"I...I can't tell you" Liam hung his head.

Nick pressed his lips into a tight line. "And why is this?"

"I lost it."

"Where?"

"I dunno - I lost it."

* * *

><p><em>Cars were parked everywhere in the car park for the show. Ducking down to avoid the spotlights, Jesse, Jim and Alexis crept from car to car, slowly towards the tanker that hid the showground from view. As they darted behind a pickup truck only about twenty metres away from the tanker, they heard the megaphone sounding again, but couldn't make out what it was saying.<em>

_"Who's voice is that?" Alexis asked in a whisper._

_"I don't know" Jesse whispered back, moving to peer around the edge of the truck but freezing as the spotlight whizzed past them. They paused for a few seconds, listening and trying to understand._

_"I think we should go back" Jim decided, crawling back a few steps._

_"No! Wait!" Jesse hissed, grabbing a hold of his wrist "We have to get a better looked before we leave."_

_"Better look!" Jim whispered incredulously, staring at Jesse as if he'd grown a second head - blue hair and all. "Better looked at what Jess?! Let's go!"_

_"One of us has to get closer before we go, we have to see what's going on!" Jesse insisted._

_"Well I'm not leaving Lexie here" Jim decided immediately. Jesse looked at him, then the tanker. He took a few deep breaths before nodding._

_"I'll go" he agreed. He ducked out of sight and scramble out into the aisle towards the tanker._

_"Jesse no!" Alexis hissed, grabbing the hem of her friend's jacket. Jesse looked back at them, his emerald eyes hard with a grown-up superiority they'd only ever seen in him before a handful of times._

_"If anything happens, run!" he told them in a low whisper._

_He then dashed along the aisle until he reached the unguarded strip of land before the tanker. A spotlight flickered across it before continuing its round. Jesse took a few deep breaths, waiting for the spotlight to go by again, and then legged it. Seconds before the spotlight flickered across the path again, Jesse flattened himself against the side of the tanker, out of sight. Alexis and Jim watched him stay there for a moment before bending down and sliding underneath the tanker. Then, for a few seconds, he just lay there, unmoving._

_"What's he doing?" Alexis asked, both nervously and urgently. Jim shrugged. Then both nearly died of shock as they made out part of the megaphone speech, and it wasn't good._

_"**Please follow orders, or you will be shot**."_

_The two of them stared at each other in shock. What in the world was going on? Alexis then almost screamed as she heard loud voices, then a gunshot, followed by people screaming._

_Jesse suddenly stood up and bolted towards them._

_"Jesse!" Jim bellowed across the car park in what he later considered to be a stupid move "Stop! You'll be spotted!" The spotlight then washed over Jesse, illuminating his pale face and emerald eyes for all to see. Jim and Alexis weren't sure where from, but they heard gunfire. Jesse bolted towards them, throwing himself behind the pickup truck as a car nearby them exploded with a rush of burning air._

_"Run!" he yelped. The three of them, ducking down to avoid the gunfire, dashed in the direction of the exit to the car park. They were pretty close to the exit when the car behind them exploded. Alexis shrieked and cowered behind the nearest car, Jesse throwing himself back to join her as a bullet zipped through a car door a few inches from his head._

_"You okay?" he asked though pants of fear and exhaustion._

_"Yeah!" Alexis as panting hard too "Where's Jim?" Jesse looked around. He couldn't see that cowboy hat or bandaged face anywhere._

_'**Please don't be dead**' he prayed silently "He's probably gone ahead!" Alexis nodded, wanting to believe him. They heard the sound of engines starting and driving somewhere._

_"Come on!" Jesse cried, grabbing Alexis' wrist and dragging her along "They're coming! They're coming!"_

"Kate! You're reading aloud again!"

"Oops! Sorry Verity!"

* * *

><p>"Moron."<p>

"What?" Liam looked away from his own 'dazzling' reflection to look at Nick. The freckled brunet was scribbling notes in his jotter with a pencil he had borrowed from the pot in Miss April's classroom - a _pink_ pencil.

"If it wasn't for your excessive need to look at yourself so much, I would have my old favourite pencil back instead of this pink monstrosity!" he seethed.

"Oh man! Get over it! It's just a pencil!" Liam groaned. '_A rather cool pencil though_.' his thoughts added. "Besides, pink isn't _that_ bad a colour."

"Pink's such a girly colour" Nick grunted. Sami let out a yowl of anger, surprising the brunet enough to make him apologise: "Sorry, Sami. I didn't know pink was your favourite colour."

"It isn't - it's orange" Sami sighed, still not looking up from her Nintendo though "And I wasn't growling at you. I was complaining because my chimpanzees are unhappy with their new enclosure."

"Oh" Nick nodded, then turned to Liam, who was spinning in his swivel chair that he had nicked from the computer. "Well, what's your favourite colour Liam?"

"LASAGNE!"

"Lasagne?" Nick stared at the blond in confusion. Liam was staring into that darn mirror, his face positively lit up. "Liam, lasagne's not a colour."

"Huh?" Liam turned to look at him now, at little strangely "Nick, lasagne's not a colour! Geez, even I know that! I mean, I know cos it's on the menu for dinner tonight!" Nick facepalmed and stood up.

"That's enough randomness for me" he grunted "If you need me, I'll be with Kaplan and Claire." He then stalked out of the library, slamming the door after him. Liam shrugged and returned to staring at his own vanity. Sami continued cursing her massively reproducing lions.

Half-an-hour later, Liam had finally finished staring at his own reflection and was getting bored. His feet propped up on Nick's chair under the table, he folded his hands over his stomach lazily looked around the library for something to do. His eyes finally settled on Sami, who was concentrating_really_ hard on her Nintendo game.

"So, what are you doing over the Summer holidays, Sami?" he asked. Said brunette raised an eyebrow at him.

"Summer holidays? Seriously?" she asked "It's _May_!" Liam shrugged.

"Well, better now than never" he told her. When she didn't reply, he decided to go first instead. "Alright, I'll go first. Well, I'm going back home to Kanto - where I relaxing on the Seafoam Islands resort for as long as the days can last! I swear after all this work I'm not going to lift a finger all summer!"

Sami rolled her eyes. "Of course you wouldn't. That's what you're like all the time."

"...okay, I guess I should've seen that coming" Liam sighed. When Sami still wouldn't give him attention, he asked in an overly-exaggerated tone: "So, what're you doing over the break Sami?"

The brunette finally looked up at him, making his grin in satisfaction at the attention. But he was bitterly disappointed when a second later she turned her head back to her Nintendo and muttered:

"My cousins are visiting."

"Oh. Cool" Liam shrugged. After a few awkward seconds of silence (or, for Liam, _HOURS_!), he inquired: "Soooooo, what are you planning on doing with them?" Sami looked up form her game, her gaze in the corner of the room, biting the inside of her mouth in contemplation.

"Well, first I plan on getting them hopelessly lost in the woods. Then I'll rig their bedroom doors to set off the alarm every time they open them. Then I'll throw more or one of them off the waterfall behind the farm. Then I'll swap their trousers for long johns..."

* * *

><p>"Okay, I give. Seriously, what's up with it?"<p>

Kellyn looked up from his book yet again. Keith was back, and pointing at the Luxray sleeping at Kellyn's feet. Actually it was acting as some sort of footstool, but the Luxray hadn't woken up or complained about it so Kellyn was making the most of it.

**It is called Sparks**

"Wonderful, _and_?" Keith pressed. Kate also looked up to see what the commotion was about.

**And he saved my life**

"Why does that not surprise me" Keith sighed, shaking his head. Kellyn sent him a disapproving glare.

**He was a prisoner of Hunter J. I saw him being captured as a Shinx. Someone freed him and he found me whilst running away**

"And it's now got attached to you?" Keith finished. Kellyn shrugged and the ginger pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to look more mature than he actually was. "Yeah, I forgot. Even since Luna got here, 'Ranger School' has just been a code word for 'Homeless Shelter'. OW!" The complaint was yelped as Keith was hit in the side of the head with a cushion tossed by the other ginger in the room.

"Oh shut up and go make a mud pie or something!" Kate scolded him, returning to her book. Upon seeing Kellyn had also returned to said activity, Keith snorted and strode off into the boys' dorm.

The annoyance gone, Kate looked up again, this time at Kellyn.

"Do you think Lunick sent him?" she asked in a whisper. Kellyn looked over his shoulder to make sure Verity still had her earplugs in before shrugging.

The conversation was interrupted as the door of the girls' dorm was thrown open with enough power to cause a seismic earthquake. Becs stood there, glowering, hate in her chocolate-button eyes.

"Where's Tamie?!" she demanded. Everyone shrugged with Verity giving a:

"I dunno."

Peeved, Becs stormed off down the stairs, resembling a rampaging Regigigas far too much. Once normality had sunk over the common room, Kate returned to the previous conversation.

"You're lucky" she told Kellyn "You have so many people watching out for you." Kellyn didn't reply in any way, but the smile of his face was enough to tell Kate he was grateful. And although she would never admit this, Kate found that smile to be one of the most adorable things in the world.

* * *

><p>"...and then I'll throw them in the pantry and wait to see how long it'll take them before they scream and wet their undies."<p>

Sami finished her little list of a speech by frowning at the Nintendo screen. She had just restored the pizza stand, but for some reason the peoples who had been standing in that space hadn't been moved. They were sort of under the stand and expected to walk out on their own. Weird game mechanics.

Liam meanwhile just stared at her wide-eyed.

"If that's your hospitality, I don't wanna see you kicking someone out!" he gulped.

Sami blew a raspberry. "Liam, definition of hospitality: making your guests feel like they're at home, even if you wish they were."

Again the door slammed open, but this time so hard the handle actually dented the plaster wall. Becs stood there in the doorway, resembling an angry Rottweiler.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" she seethed. Immediately Isaac shushed her. She rolled her eyes and repeated her previous demand in a whisper. Following the agreement Tamie had asked of them, they all shrugged. Becs' eyes immediately moved to the 'treetop' where Tamie was hiding.

"How dare you!" Becs roared, no longer bothering to whisper, marching towards the bookcase Tamie was hiding on top of. "And what the heck are you doing in a tree?!"

Isaac groaned, holding his head in his hands behind his _**massive**__ stack of books! _"I think they've defeated the purpose of the word 'library'."

* * *

><p><strong>So you've really got no plans for the hols?<strong>

Kate glanced at the message before re-folding it back into a paper aeroplane and sending it flying into the recycling bin by the styler recharger.

"No" she shook her head, darting her gaze between her book and Kellyn, who was now sitting on the floor and running his hand through Sparks' fur. "I mean, I've got to help Percy with Sorrel's birthday party, but other than that I have no idea." She transferred her gaze to Kellyn fully. "What about you?"

Half a minute later, another paper aeroplane came her way. She unfolded it, read it and then sent it on it's way to the recycling bin.

**I think Mum wants me to hang out more with Melissa. She wants to be a ranger too**

"I see" Kate nodded her head. She paused to think of how to phrase this next question. "Were you ever..._close_ to her? Or to anyone in your foster family?" Kellyn looked thoughtful for a least a minute before sending another paper aeroplane.

**I don't think so. I mean, they're like a second family - but I never wanted to hang around with them like a regular son would with his family**

Kate didn't reply to this, just sent the paper towards the recycling bin again. Unfortunately, this time she missed.

"Ow!" Keith helped, grabbing his forehead where the aeroplane had just hit him "Who's throwing planes?!"

"Sorry Keith" Kate apologised, returning to her book afterwards "I just asked Kelly he was doing in the Summer Holidays."

Kellyn frowned in disapproval at the nickname before turning to Keith and (because he didn't think Keith would appreciate any more plane aeroplanes) signed:

_**What about you?**_

"Me? Well, I'm going back to Saffron City to see Lind" Keith tapped his chin "And then, I wanna board the train to Goldenrod and visit the radio tower!"

"What?!" Kate squeaked, looking up at Keith in alarm. Kellyn did too.

"_**Is he nuts**_?" That was Sparks, his head raised slightly and acid-green eyes half-open. Luna was still asleep on the sofa.

"_What_ what?" Keith blinked "What's wrong with Goldenrod?"

_**He not hear about Team Rocket?**_ Kellyn signed, his back to Keith. Kate shook her head and returned to her book. A few seconds later, Kellyn returned to his prior activity too.

"I don't get it, what's so bad about Goldenrod?" Keith blinked. Kate rolled her eyes, not looking up.

"Keith, there's this show that comes on every evening at six" she grumbled "I was wondering if you'd ever seen it before. It's called the news."

"Ohhhh! That show!" Keith's eyes widened as realisation spread across his features, looking very proud of himself. "Yeah, I've seen that before!" He then frowned in concentration. "I think...which one is it again?" Kate sighed in exasperation.

"It's the one where they begin with 'Good evening' and then proceed to tell you why it isn't" Verity called over from table where she was doing homework. Keith's eyes widened.

"Oh! I know that one!" he grinned "I saw it once."

"Just once?!" Kate stared at him "Seriously?!" Kellyn wrote a note and sent it across the common room as a paper aeroplane again.

**What were you expecting, really?**

Kate giggled and nodded. Keith looked between the two of them, confused.

"Okay guys, stop flirting and tell me what you're saying about me" He folded his arms. Kate and Kellyn stared at him in something akin to horror before looking away from each other and blushing furiously. They all looked up though as Starlight burst into the common room in a whirl of pants and sweat, Shadow right behind him.

"Starlight? What's the matter?" Kate asked, now over her little embarrassed moment. Starlight was panting so hard it took him four attempts to get the words out.

"Come quickly! There's something I need to show you!"


	36. Faith Fallen

**"****If the worst comes to worst, I do not give you permission to eat me."**

**"Well right now, you have the right to remain silent!"**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Thirty-Six - Faith Fallen**

"...Well...this is a mess."

'_...Keith. Shut up._'

Kellyn shifted the best he could, but he couldn't do so much as move his legs along what he assumed was the floor. His back was pressed against Keith's, his wrists bound to the ginger's and some sort of blindfold across his eyes. According to Keith, he could at least see the wall in front of him, so Kellyn assumed their captors had only assumed _he_ was the dangerous one and needed to be blindfolded.

"What d'ya think they locked us in here for?"

Kellyn shrugged. Or at least, did something that resembled shrugging whilst tied up.

"...Hey Kel...you don't think they locked us in here so we would kill each other, do ya?"

Kellyn bashed the back of his head backwards into the back of Keith's. Now say that five times quickly.

"Ow!" Keith whined "What was that for?!"

With no way to reply, Kellyn...didn't.

"...Just to let you know, if the worst comes to worst, I do not give you permission to eat me."

Kellyn bashed the back of his head into the back of Keith's again.

"Ow! Seriously, stop doing that!"

Kellyn heaved a great if not high-pitched sigh and let his head hang, closing his eyes since there wasn't really any point in keeping them open if he couldn't see. He just felt so hurt - physically and emotionally.

"...Kel...you're not crying, are you?"

Kellyn leant his head back against Keith and shook it to say no.

"Oh. Well, it's just, you were crying in your sleep before, so I was just checking in case..." Keith started, but then stopped and changed what he was going to say next. "Kel, this isn't your fault, you know. None of us blame you. Luna escaped. She'll find us, and then we'll find Kate and Sparks and we can all go back home, okay?"

'_I'm such an idiot_' Kellyn bowed his head, not really listening to his comrade '_Why did I even bother_? _Every time I make friends with someone, they either get hurt or they hurt me._'

"Hey!" Keith snapped, forcing Kellyn out of his little 'beating himself up' session. "This isn't your fault! It's all Starlight!" He lowered his voice to a dangerous level, practically growling: "It's all Starlight."

Kellyn tried to nod, but he was physically and mentally wasted and couldn't even find the strength to raise his head. The tears came now, he wouldn't deny it any longer.

'_He was our friend! How could he betray us_?! _Why_?!'

* * *

><p><em>Kellyn hadn't known what had hit him, in every sense of the phrase. He'd just been following right behind Starlight and Shadow with Sparks at his side and everyone else somewhere behind them. They must've seemed an odd group: three kids, a shiny Espeon, an Umbreon and a Luxray - but that wasn't Kellyn's biggest worry. They'd already left the school grounds, left the school island, strayed away from the main road and had been walking through woodland for some time. His cloak (which he'd grabbed before they had left) had snagged on several twigs and branches and had almost torn several times, and he had several cuts to his skin and a twisted ankle.<em>

_He had been limping after Starlight, one arm around Sparks' neck for support, when they reached a clearing. And that was when Starlight had done something extraordinary._

_"Dude, are you walking on air?!" Keith went bug-eyed. It looked like Starlight and Shadow were walking up an invisible ramp. Kellyn cautiously put out his foot and heard metal creaking as the sole of his boot made contact with something that went up diagonally. Very much like a ramp._

_"__**Come on! Let's try it out!**__" Luna cheered, whizzing past him to race up the invisible ramp. With a deep breath of courage, Kellyn let go of Sparks and slowly hobbled up the ramp - it was quite hard to do considering the slope of the ramp and the fact he was limping. After a few metres, he reached the top of the ramp where the metal levelled off quite abruptly._

_That was when everything went so very wrong._

_Before he could turn around and check on Kate and Keith, something hard smashed into the left side of the back of his skull. The force of the blow flung Kellyn off of his feet and made him crash down to the metal floor below. Keith and Kate yelled his name and the sound of footsteps on metal echoed everywhere - far too many footsteps for just Kate and Keith to be making. Luna shrieked with outrage and Sparks began roaring about something. But Kellyn blocked this all out when he heard what was said next._

_At first, the whole world was a haze of white and black. Then his sight began to return. He was lying on the floor on his side, angled to face down the ramp they'd come up. It was no longer invisible, but now a dark machinery-grey and screaming with the words 'entrance to your horrible doom!'. But it was what was at the bottom of that ramp that shocked Kellyn the most._

_"Well, it's good to see you didn't back out on our deal."_

_Standing there, up to her ankles in long grass, was Hunter J._

_"I'm not proud of what I'm done. Now it's your turn."_

_And standing opposite her, his head hung so his silver-hair hid his face, was Starlight. The boy Kellyn had come to see as his best friend - completely untouched by any of Hunter J forces. Betraying them. Betraying the ones that had taken him in and cared for him. Betraying his friends...his family._

_"My turn? Ohhhh, you mean __**her**__?" J snorted dismissively "I will meet you in Mossdeep City. Then I'll get around to it."_

_"Hey!" Starlight's head snapped up in anger "That wasn't part of the deal! You said you'd let her go!"_

_"I never said here and now" J pointed out, her words becoming harder to workout as Kellyn's hearing started to go again. "I've seen you can keep your word, now I'm expecting you to wait for me to keep mine."_

_With one last sigh, Starlight hung his head again and ground out: "Fine."_

_Then, Kellyn let the hurt and despair in his heart overrule him. The world faded back into that haze of black and white, and he knew no more._

* * *

><p>Keith clasped his hand rather awkwardly, as their wrists were bound together.<p>

"Everything gonna be okay, alright?" he tried to reassure him. The reassurance was just hollow though. According to Keith's also-date-telling glow-in-the-dark watch, they'd been locked in this place for over a day-and-a-half. No rescue was coming - that was clear. "The darkest hour is just before the dawn. Lind always used to say that. I always trusted my brother, and I'm gonna trust him now too. Got it?"

Kellyn nodded. Empty promises were the best he could hope for right now.

* * *

><p>"LET ME OUT OF HERE YOU PUNKS!"<p>

Several grunts outside in the corridor winced as Kate Hitomi launched another kick at the mechanical door. The door already had several obvious dents from the outside as, besides a three hour nap, Kate had spent the last day-and-a-half battering the poor innocent door with her feet, fists and capture disk. Needless to say the quartet of grunts guarding her were walking on eggshells, trying not to do something that could result in bodily harm for them.

"We should've put her with the boys" the leader of this little group decided, folding his arms "They hopefully would've kept her occupied."

"LET ME OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"Are you kidding me?" his second-in-command stared at him "She would've killed them and used their heads and bones as weapons against us when she escaped - which she would've!"

"I don't get it. She was perfectly docile before we threw her in here" one of the other grunts, a big muscular guy, scratched his head "But the second we locked the door, she totally lost it."

"WHEN I GET OUT I'M GONNA SHISH KEBAB YOU ALL!"

"I don't doubt you will" the second-in-command murmured.

"I don't even see why we're keeping her around" the fourth grunt - a young, inexperienced, weedy kinda guy - added his two cents.

"Apparently she's a valuable asset" the leader explained "But whoever wants her is obviously insane, suicidal, desperate or Mike."

"Hey!" grunt #3, obviously 'Mike', protested.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS! I HAVE RIGHTS!"

"Well right now, you have the right to remain silent!" the fourth grunt fired back, smirking with pride at his comeback.

Another dent in the door. This one looked to be from a capture disk again.

"I think you just made her mad" 'Mike' told his jeering companion.

"Squadron!" a nameless unimportant grunt peered his head around the corner of the corridor "The Sir needs to see you!"

"All of us?!" the leader complained, before sighing "Fine. Yuan," he turned to the fourth grunt "guard the door."

"M-Me?!" 'Yuan' pointed at himself, openly shaking with terror "Guard h-h-her?! By myself?!"

"Relax, she isn't going anywhere" Mike snorted "That's a reinforced steel door with five different locks controlled by three different control panels with a different combination on each. _You_ can open it from the outside, but I highly doubt one twelve-year-old's gonna get through all of that."

Sure enough, as if Kate had heard all of that, she had stopped abusing the door.

"See, pie" Mike grunted "Stay here, we'll be back when the meeting's over."

So the other grunts left, leaving poor little Yuan all by his lonesome. The grunt cautiously backed up against the door, standing as straight as possible and trying to look like a _real_ guard. For about five minutes, all was well. But then, all good things have to come to an end. Including for Yuan.

"Excuse me? Mister?"

Yuan's thoughts went for a terrified whirl as Kate spoke, but he put on his best poker face as he responded: "Yes?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Kate asked.

"It's my duty to guard this door and that's what I'm going to do" Yuan quickly told her "And so far I have been doing that to the level of—"

"Oh don't flatter yourself!" Kate rolled her eyes, cutting him off "I have a request!"

"What" Yuan's voice was so flat, it would simply be a crime to put a question mark there.

"I'm thirsty" Kate told him "Do you have any water?"

"Oh! Sure!" Yuan relaxed and turned to face the door. Picking up the water bottle they had been supposed to give her some time ago (although they'd all been to afraid to do it at the time), he punched in the codes for the door and it slid open. Yuan greeted her with a friendly smile...

...only to be met with a not-so-friendly fist to the face.

After a day-and-a-half of solitude and frustration, Kate was not in the mood for playing nice.

"Finally" she muttered, dragging Yuan inside the space she'd been enclosed without in case anyone came down the corridor and saw him. She took the water bottle from his hand, wrenched off the lid and drank as much as she could in five gulps. She then wiped her mouth and prepared to escape for real.

'_I've gotta find the boys, and they'll probably be in a room like this one. So it'll probably be somewhere on this corridor._'

Peering up and down the long greyish corridor, she stuck close to the wall, checking out all the doors she passed to see which one had the highest security. But it appeared J had a lot of grunts because every room she passed seem to be a dormitory.

'_No fair, they get their one dorms whilst we have to share with classmates_!' Kate couldn't help but pout.

She didn't have a lot of luck with any doors. Until she reached the last door on the corridor. It looked a lot like hers, but with only one keypad lock that seemed to require a longer code.

'_This must be it_!' she realised, her eyes gleaming with hope. She smirked down at the keypad - she'd always been good at mechanics at school. Whipping out a fold-away screwdriver she'd picked from the room she'd been sealed in before, she unscrewed the lid off of the keypad, exposing the wires underneath. There appeared to be only two wires, one red and one green, both connected with a magnet contraption that could easily be pulled apart.

"Piece of cake" Kate muttered to herself with a confident smile. She pulled apart the two magnets on each wire before connecting one end of the green wire to the other end of the red wire, making an X shape with them as the magnets held them in place. Immediatly the door slid open.

'_Alright_!' she silently cheered to herself '_Take that Hunter J_!'

Kate quickly realised though that this room did not have Kellyn and Keith in it.

'_Are these all...Pokémon_?'

The room was lined with statues, Pokémon frozen in time and trapped within a golden shell. A glass dome surrounded each one of them, like they were just pretty objects on display. As she walked down the aisle cleared in the middle, Kate had to bite back tears at some of the shocked, horrified or pleading looks on the prisoners' faces. If Sparks had been captured by Hunter J, he would've gone through this exactly.

This had to be the ultimate torture.

'_But if Sparks is free now, then surely that means we can recover them_' Kate tried to keep her hopes up '_And that's what we'll do_! _We'll save all of them_! _They'll all be free to go back home_!'

She frowned now. At the end of the room was a bigger glass dome - big enough to fit Kate inside of it. And there was statue inside it - some sort of bipedal prisoner. Whatever it was, it certainly had arms and legs.

'_A Machoke or a Sudowoodo maybe_?' she guessed, speeding up her walking pace in anticipation.

But the truth was further from that than she could've ever imagined.

Kate gasped, her throat going dry, and suddenly so much made sense. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, something about the whole story had never made sense - and now she knew the answer.

"Impossible..."


	37. A mean right-hook

**"****Indiana Jones would be ashamed!"**

**"****You'd be ready for a nuclear holocaust if you were given two seconds warning."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Thirty-Seven - A mean right-hook**

Kellyn swore Keith was the most manipulative person he ever had the misfortune of being close to! Except for Rhythmi. And Liam. And occasionally Kate. Come to think of it, he gets manipulated a lot.

...He should probably start rethinking who he calls his friends now.

"You nearly got it?" Keith asked. Kellyn shrugged. "What d'ya mean you don't know?!"

'_Blindfold_' Kellyn wanted to tell him, but he had no way of doing so and he needed to focus fully on the ropes he was trying to psychically force to snap around their wrists whilst avoiding giving the two of them rope-burn. That was why he against this idea.

"...Are you nearly done yet?"

Kellyn clenched his teeth. '_For the sixth time, NO KEITH_!'

No sooner had he thought this, the ropes around his left wrist snapped, came lose and slipped to the floor.

"FINALLY!" Keith gasped with relief, snatching his now freed right hand and diving for the other set of ropes around their other wrists. Kellyn meanwhile went for his blindfold, pulling it down so it hung around his neck like a scarf. Blinking open his eyes, he quickly realised why he'd been the only one blindfolded - he wasn't staring at the door. Instead, he was facing a multitude of Pokémon statues. Unlike the statues Kate had found, these did not have a glass dome and therefore no known way of purifying them. But thankfully Kellyn didn't know this yet.

"FREEDOM!" Keith bellowed, managing to free their other wrists. Now free to move both wrists, it was only a few more seconds before Kellyn managed to force the rope tying them together around their middles to snap, falling to the floor. Immediately the two jumped to their feet and as far away from each other as they could in one bound.

"Aren't I a genius?! " Keith grinned smugly. Kellyn rolled his eyes. He decided not to remind Keith the only reason he had agreed to that potentially dangerous plan was to escape Keith passing the time telling Kellyn some of his life stories (which for those of you who don't know are as interesting as Kincaid's grammar lessons and about as true as The Chronicles Of Narnia).

In an attempt to ignore the egotistical ginger, the psychic being walked over to the statues. Near the front of the 'crowd' of statues, was one Kellyn recognised.

'_Sparks_!' he called out, hoping the captured Luxray could hear him. There was no response.

"Hey Kel! I'm gonna look for a way outta here!" Keith announced somewhere behind him, but Kellyn wasn't really listening. He instead walked over to Sparks and got down on one knee, resting his palm on the statue's forehead.

'_Sparks, I'm so sorry_' Kellyn bowed his head, thinking of the Shinx Sparks he saw being captured by Hunter J all those months ago. '_I dragged you into this. Please forgive me_.'

Kellyn quickly retracted his hand as he began to feel the statue beneath his palm grow warm. He startled as he saw a palm-shaped indigo handprint on Sparks' forehead - the gold had seemingly melted away.

'_I wonder...can I_?' Kellyn pressed his palm against the top of Sparks' head now, where the gold was still, holding it there even when the warmth in his palm returned. Slowly, the colour began to lick back onto Sparks' fur - flooding from head to paw. When all the gold melted away, Sparks' eyes returned to their normal green colour with a blink. With that blink, the former statue's muscles seemed to flop back into action and he fell forwards, Kellyn catching him before he hit the ground.

"**_Ugh! What...happened?_**" Sparks croaked out, not quite able to move. Kellyn carefully set him down on the floor.

'_Stay here, I just figured something out_' he told the Luxray '_I can free everyone. Just watch_.' He moved on to the next statue: a Lotad. He placed his hand on top of the statue's head and imagined the colours a Lotad would normally be, his palm heating up with a gentle warmth as he did so. He closed his eyes, and after a few seconds he felt something stir beneath his palm. He slowly opened his eyes again, blinking to adjust to the dim light, and found himself staring at a perfectly fine Lotad.

'_I knew it_!' he celebrated in his head '_I can free them_! _I can free all of the prisoners_!' The Lotad seemed to ignore his little celebration and instead asked him the same groggy question Sparks had. Kellyn patted the top of it's head. '_It's okay. Everything's gonna be just fine. Stay with Sparks for now, I have to free the others._'

The Lotad just blinked sleepily up at Kellyn, so the psychic being turned it to face Sparks. Immediately the Pokémon's eyes went wide and it went back to staring at Kellyn, furiously shaking it's head.

"**_Are you insane?!_**" was the gist of what Kellyn could understand. He'd never listened to a Lotad before, so he had had no previous warning that their voices were unbelievably muffled and squeaky.

'_Don't worry_' Kellyn would've chuckled if he could've. He gently pushed the Lotad towards the Luxray. '_He won't bite...__**you**__. Besides, it won't be for long. Just a few minutes, okay_?'

And with that, Kellyn made his way along the line of Pokémon, making sure every single one of them was relieved of their cruel golden prisons. Some, like the Lotad, took only a few seconds; others, like a Bibarel, took a little longer. There was even an Infernape that Kellyn had to devote a lot of energy to, and had had to stop halfway through for fear he might collapse from exhaustion - which would not be a great idea right now. It was just as he was finishing up on the last Pokémon - a Glameow - when he heard a loud grating noise from behind him and Keith's voice bellow:

"KEL! I FOUND A SECRET ENTRANCE!"

Without any warning, there was a stampede. Kellyn found himself suddenly swarmed with Pokémon and thrown to the ground. They stood on him, kicked him and one may have actually bitten him in their haste to reach the exit. Kellyn curled himself up into a little ball, arms covering his head to protect himself the best he could. Then, he heard the grating noise again and the stampede stopped.

"OH COME _ON_!" Keith was complained and it sounded like he was hitting something with something "For the first time, the hero actually _finds_ a secret exit, and the Pokémon steal it! You've gotta be kidding me! Indiana Jones would be ashamed!"

Kellyn groaned and held his pounding noggin as he sat up. He saw Keith at the back wall, furiously banging a metal panel with his fist - apparently trying to reopen his secret entrance. Well, all the Pokémon were gone, so _something_ must have opened at some point. Either that or they all teleported. Which was highly unlikely.

"**_You okay?_**" Well, at least Sparks stayed behind.

'_Ugh...yeah_' Kellyn groggily agreed, slowly getting to his feet. Keith meanwhile let out a final yowl and kicked the wall. Nothing happened.

"Well Kellyn," the ginger announced, turning to face his cellmate "I've just decided: I hate secret entrances."

'_You won't be saying that when one saves your life_' Kellyn rolled his eyes. Keith though, oblivious to Kellyn's thoughts, walked over to the main door.

"Well, looks like we're gonna have to get out this way" he announced, placing his palm on the ridiculously thick metal. It wouldn't be easy to take out now all the Pokémon had scidadled off. "Hey, Kel? Think you can work some magic on this door?"

Kellyn's head was still pounding after releasing 30+ Pokémon and being trampled by a stampede - but he knew if he said no, Keith would put the escape on temporary hold and resume telling his life stories. Between that and the risk of fainting, Kellyn chose fainting.

* * *

><p>With a gasp of relief and exhaustion, Kellyn sat back on the floor, heaving for breath. It had taken five minutes and way more entry than Kellyn had <em>ever<em> intended on devoting to one thing other than punishing Keith, but finally the three mechanical locks had unbolted and Kellyn was completely mentally drained. Now the door had slid away sideways and the only thing standing between them and freedom was a swinging door. Unless J had put a third door in, but Kellyn doubted she was_that_ desperate.

"**_Good job_**" Sparks congratulated him in the modest and sensibile way he did everything. Keith was less subtle. He squealed (yes, you read that right) and tackle-hugged Kellyn into the metal floor.

"You did it Kel! You know what, you're such a good friend that if we were on a sinking ship together and there was only one life jacket, I'd miss you heaps and think of you often!"

Kellyn rolled his eyes. '_Of course you would. Thanks for the consideration Keith_.'

Still grinning, Keith pushed the second door open, and then froze. Kellyn and Sparks, just behind him, also stopped.

Sparks sighed. "_**He really didn't think this through, did he?**_"

'_No, he didn't_' Kellyn sweatdropped '_When does he_?'

Standing in front of their now open door was two rather burly looking grunts. And they didn't look exactly friendly.

"And where do you think you're going?" the grunt on the right inquired. Keith looked at Kellyn and gave him a knowing wink.

'_He's up to something_' Kellyn told Sparks in a groaning tone '_I know he's up to something_.'

"**_And I take it that's not a good thing?_**" Sparks asked.

'_No. No it isn't_.'

"How about the bathroom?" Keith tried.

"How about no" the grunt of the left stated.

"But what if we've gotta _go_?" Keith inquired - to Kellyn it was hard to tell if he was acting "In the words of Annie: 'If you've gotta go, you've gotta go'."

"Well you're just going to have to the patient" the first grunt snorted.

"Me?! Patient?!" Keith looked horrified "Who are you to tell me to defy my awesomeness?!"

'_No patience equals awesomeness_?' Kellyn tried to put the puzzle together, but it was making his head spin with confusion.

"We're Pokémon-hunters-in-training!" the grunt on the left stated.

"And that mumbo jumbo means?" Keith inquired.

The other goon rolled his eyes. "In other words, we're the bad guys."

"Ohhhhh! Really?" Keith was either a really good actor, or a moron. It was probably the latter. "Because I thought bad guys are supposed to be more like 'Graaahhhh!' and 'I'm going to KEEL you!'"

"Is that so?" the grunt on the right...grunted "We have been instructed only to kill you under extreme circumstances."

"Like, how extreme a circumstances are we talking here?" Keith just went on with his rambling "As in KOing-you-both extreme or threatening-you-with-the-equivalent-of-an-atom-bom b extreme? Because we can do both." He patted Kellyn on the shoulder with that, despite the fact the brunet wasn't keen on the idea of self-destructing himself to bring this airship down.

"Get this straight!" the goon on the left yelled in their faces "The only way you're leaving is in a statue or a body bag!"

"Okay! Okay!" Keith waved his hands in mock-surrender "Geez! The price of freedom is real steep these days!" Kellyn tried to keep his breathing under control so it didn't look like he was laughing.

"Back in the room!" grunt Número Dos pointed behind them into the prison they'd just escaped from.

"Alright, alright!" Keith complained "But first, I wanna show you what my dad said to do if I was ever cornered by a group of thugs."

Before anyone could process what he had just said, Keith's foot went flying through the air and connected with the underside of the grunt's chin. The grunt went flying through the air and landed in an unceremonious heap on the floor. Kellyn didn't get the opportunity to see if the grunt ever recovered from this hit, because he was immediately knocked to the floor by a cracking punch to the jaw from said grunt's companion. Just after scrambling to his knees, Kellyn was shoved down again by someone, presumably Keith. He guessed this because at that exact moment the ginger hollered:

"HIT THE DECK!"

And not a second later, a bright flash and a bang echoed above their heads. The brunet once again got to his knees, coughing out some blood that had accumulated in his mouth from the sheer force of the punch. He tenderly prodded the right side of his jaw and winced at the slight pain. That was going to leave a nasty mark.

'_That's gonna be hard to explain to Kate_' he thought.

"Whoa Sparks!" Keith cheered somewhere to his left "Nice Thunder Charge!" Sparks said nothing, but Kellyn felt the Luxray press his shoulder against the psychic's beings, trying to nudge him to his feet.

"**_You didn't loose a couple of fangs, did you?_**" Sparks inquired.

'_Teeth - I'm not vampire_' Kellyn corrected him '_But no, I'm fine_.'

"Hey, you doing okay Kel?" Kellyn looked up to see Keith extending a hand towards him. Kellyn took it and let the ginger pull him to his feet, nodding to answer the question.

"Yikes, that's one mean right-hook he gave you there!" Keith remarked, looking at the yellowing bruise on Kellyn's jaw "Kate's gonna blow her top!" mostly ignoring Keith, Kellyn bent down, reached into the pocket of one of the now unconscious grunts and removed a scrap of paper and a pen that was clipped onto the inside.

**Let's go before someone finds us**

"Yeah" Keith nodded "Let's find Kate, kick Hunter J's butt and scidadle outta here!" Kellyn's smile faded.

**We'll have to confront J, won't we?**

"Probably" Keith nodded, looking pensive for a rare brief moment "And, not to stress you out or anything, but if we do see her, you're kinda our only hope." Kellyn hung his head and gave a small nod. He was already aware of this - but it didn't make it any easier.

**I just wish I was ready**

"Kel, you'd be ready for a nuclear holocaust if you were given two seconds warning" Keith elbowed him with a smile "You're a psychic being, remember. It's in ya blood. Stop stressin' out! You're ready to face Hunter J, the Go Rock Squad or whoever else finds time in their diary to ruin or day!" He then checked his watch and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, our _night_ anyway." A small smile crept onto Kellyn's face.

**Thanks Keith**

"Ya welcome!" The ginger gave an over-dramatic bow.

"**_If whatcha-call-him is all done fooling around, can we leave now before someone else finds us?_**" Sparks sighed in exasperation.

'_Yeah, let's go_' Kellyn thought with a nod, writing that down for Keith's benefit.

"Alrighty then!" Grinning, Keith spun around dramatically on one foot, walking comically with his arms swinging ridiculously and eyes closed with a grin plastered on his face. And of course, this could only lead to one outcome...

"Ow! Me snoz!"

Keith had just smooshed his face into a wall and was now holding his nose with his eyes scrunched shut. If Kellyn could laugh, he'd been ROFL-ing.

"Jerk!" Keith grumbled very nasally, clutching his nose "Me nose's bleedin'! Ya gotta 'andkerchief?"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in a place far far away, Lind understood how Keith was feeling exactly.<p>

"Hold still!" Lark hissed, clamping her hand onto the top of Lind's head to hold it still whilst she shoved the handkerchief into his nose again. The action made Lind sneeze, a spray of blood hitting the handkerchief and just missing Lind's purple trousers.

"Careful!" Lark immediately scolded him "We don't have a washing machine here!"

Lind said something, but it was so nasal due to the nosebleed that Lark couldn't make it out. Really it went something along the lines of: "And hence springs the gift of magically changing your clothes. Unfortunately they only ever come in one colour."

"Don't even think about blaming me for this!" Lark said in response, sure whatever Lind had attempted to say was probably an accusation. "It's not my fault you slipped through one of Rafe's portals and whacked your nose off of the council table!" That was indeed the table Lind was currently sat on whilst Lark attempted to fix his nose.

"It's not my fault either, you jerk!" Lind tried to say, but it came out more like: "Z mot my fau ei'er, mu murk!" Lind unfortunately was not accustomed to speaking without use of his nose, unlike Keith who had crashed into a fair few objects in his time.

With a sigh and eye-roll of exasperation, Lark looked over her shoulder towards one of the walkways that connected to the platform the 'grand' table that had stood there for millennia and was currently being used as a doctor's chair.

"Lunick, have you got a bandage or a strip of cloth or something?" she sighed "Or even a piece of Sellotape so Li—" She stopped as she finally realised something was wrong. "Lunick?" The former Ringtown ranger was shivering as if angry, his teeth locked together and a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

"How dare she..." he growled under his breath.

"Who?" Lark asked, her priority no longer Lind who hastily portal-ed out of the vicinity.

"She thought she could lay a finger on her and get away with it..." Lunick seethed, not making sense to Lark. "That's the final straw! Enough's enough!"

"What do you–" Lark started, but she never finished.

Before Lark could stop him, Lunick took a few steps back, then raced forward and threw himself off of the walkway, vanishing into the darkness below.

* * *

><p>A small white hand failed in the darkness, the arm it was attached to stretching out as much was possible in an attempt to escape the dark mass. There was desperation in its actions, but also tiredness, exhausted from spending so long trying to get free. Not for the first time, a voice whimpered from just beneath the surface of the darkness:<p>

"...Lunick..."

And into the darkness, there came light. Just as the pale hand looked like it was finally giving up its fight to remain free of the darkness, a second hand dove into the depths and seized it. The two hands remained interlocked, light spreading out throughout the darkness - bringing hope to the imprisoned.

"Don't worry. I'm here."


	38. The sun has risen

**"Don't you dare go all sappy on me."**

**"****They're far too complicated for someone who still thinks one plus one is eleven."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Thirty-Eight - The sun has risen**

Solana took a deep breath that turned into a gasp as she raised her arm out in front of her. After being trapped in the darkness for so long, it felt so easy to move her limbs that she almost felt lightheaded - like one feels when they've been a swimming pool too long.

'_Free_...' the thought was so foreign to her, it boggled her mind for a second. '_I...I don't have to fight anymore_.' The darkness wasn't surrounding her anymore, pulling at her limbs and choking her as it dragged her down into it's depths. It was blasted back into a circle several metres away from her whilst she stood upon a small beach was what seemed like pale-grey pebbles - all perfectly elliptical - whilst dark waves lapped gently upon the shore.

Her voice was cracked and sore from all the pleading and screaming she'd been doing for so long, but as she wrapped her arms around herself, she choked out one word:

"Lunick?"

"I'm right here." Something gripped her upper arm. With a squeak of alarm, Solana spun around, her eyes wide and her jaw almost dropped. But tears welled in her eyes as she saw the one person she had hoped but doubted she would ever see again.

"Lunick!" She wanted to wrap her arms around him and give him the biggest hug she could, but he beat her to it. He seemed stronger than before - or maybe she was just more fragile - because he held her gently as if she would break if he held her too hard. He seemed to be taller too - she couldn't quite rest her forehead on his shoulder like he was with her now; not that she'd tried that since they were, like, twelve.

"Solana." The call was practically a whisper - so quiet the lapping of waves on the pebbles almost disguised it.

Solana frowned as she felt a wet spot on her shoulder. Was he–? "Lunick, why are you crying?"

"I-I'm sorry" He almost whimpered as he lifted his face from her shoulder. His eyes were glassy and wet. "I'm sorry it took me so long to find you. I searched everywhere for you, I really did! But I didn't imagine..." He shook his head, his eyes falling closed with what seemed like disappointment for a second. He raised a hand and placed it on her cheek, making her flush slightly. "You've been fighting for so long. You're so strong - but it should never have been your battle to fight. I dragged you into this Solana, and I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am for that. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and all I've ever seemed to have done is cause trouble for you; it seems to happen to everyone I care about. Maybe I'm cursed, it wouldn't surprise me. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I do–" He was cut off as Solana laid a hand over his mouth, preventing him from saying anything else.

"Lunick, don't you dare go all sappy on me" she offered him a small smile "I chose to go with you - you didn't make that decision for me; and I wouldn't ever even consider changing my mind. You and Kellyn mean so much to me - you're the family I never had. And I could bare the struggle for my life, knowing you'd find me some day."

Lunick now looked rather sheepish, the hand on her cheeks reloctating to the back of his head. She was almost disappointed by the action. "Well, actually, I only found you thanks to Owari - don't ask who he is - and even then it required a lot of pressuring. And I only found _you_ here because _he_'s so nearby."

"Huh?" Solana was confused, not understanding what Lunick was saying "What do you mean? Who's _he_?"

Lunick took a deep breath, like he was preparing for a long speech, and gripped her arm with his other hand. "_He_'s the one who's going to help you."

"What?" Solana was now even more confused, and starting to get a little scared "What do you mean? Isn't that what you came to do? Like you promised - 'I'd come to help you even if I wasn't told to', right?"

"No" Lunick shook his head "Not this time." He took several steps back, putting as much distance between him and her as possible. "Because I'm not supposed to be the one to..."

He trailed off, spinning around so she couldn't see his face. Then, the most curious thing started to happen. His form started to flicker, so he seemed to be there one second and someone else in that same spot the next.

"Lunick?" Solana was now starting to tremble in fright now "What's going on?! What are you doing?!"

"Showing you" Lunick replied, but his voice seemed to be backed up by someone else's - a young boy's. "This is him. This is the one who'll save you, believe in him - he's more special than you think."

Lunick turned around, but his form had finally changed completely. He was now about two heads shorter, with brown hair cut into a Buizel style and mint-green laced in with the blue of his eyes. His ranger uniform had faded away into a long green cloak, a green jumper, fingerless gloves and jeans that tucked into a pair of boots as brown as his hair. Solana had never seen this kid before in her life.

But she didn't have much time to examine him, because the darkness swept back over and everything faded into black.

* * *

><p>"It's time to go Solana. Be free. You may not recognise me, but we will meet again. I promise."<p>

* * *

><p>Kate openly gaped as the dome before her shimmered with white light, stopping her from seeing the statue inside it. She'd just flipped a switch in the base of the dome - she didn't mean for this to happen!<p>

'_Please don't explode_' she prayed '_Please please please __**please**__ don't explode_!'

Thankfully it didn't explode. The whiteness simply shattered into the tiniest of particles, the dome shattering with it. As the light cleared, Kate could see the golden statue was no longer golden, but coloured in the correct tones of pink, red, grey and blue.

Then Kate swore she nearly died of shock, as the statue _moved_! But not only did it move, it stepped down from the platform it has been standing on onto the floor. It blinked twice, then apparently focused on her and put on a smile.

"Hello there, who are you?"

She was staring at a fifteen-year-old Solana Hinata.

Kate had absolutely no clue what to do. Her mouth just hung open, her eyes wide and her muscles tense. _She_ probably looked like a statue now.

"Excuse me?" Solana's smile faded into confusion ever so slightly. "Are you quite well?" She took a step forward and, for reasons Kate would later say she couldn't quite identify, the ginger shied away.

"Oh, are you shy?" Solana asked, the smile still on her face. She was apparently trying to be as friendly as possible towards this strange girl. "You understand me, right?" Somehow, Kate found the ability to nod. Solana visibly relaxed - not that she could be more relaxed. "Oh, good! My name's Solana, what's yours?"

"K-Kate" the ginger stuttered out, still too shell-shocked to fully understand what was happening. '_How is this possible_?! _HOW_?!'

"Kate! What a pretty name!" Solana smiled, clapping her hands together "I know a girl called Kate - well, Katherine really, we just call her Kate. She's just a baby actually." Her red eyes went distant for a moment. "Maybe Lunick and I will go see her again some day."

If Kate wasn't stunned before, she was now. _Really_ stunned.

"Well, I suppose I better find this boy Lunick was so certain I'd meet" Solana decided, raising her chin.

She walked past Kate in the direction of the door, but then she turned around and looked at the frozen ginger who was staring at her as if she was an alien disembarking from a flying saucer.

"Well?" Solana giggled ever-so-slightly. It was a carefree giggle. "Are you coming?"

"Er...um...ah..." Kate fumbled for any words at all "...er...uh-huh..."

Forcing her feet to move, she stumbled after the impossibly-young blunette. One following the other, they left the room of prisons.

Their destination?

Hope.

Freedom.

* * *

><p>"LIGHT! LIIIIIIIIGHT!"<p>

A flame popped into life in the centre of the dormitory.

'_Ah_! _Keith no_!' Kellyn sprinted forwards and snatched the match out Keith's hands. He tried to blow it out, but it was strangely harder than the movies made it out to be. He finally just plunked the match in a half-full cup of what appeared to be lemonade. Which grunt had left a cup of lemonade lying around his dorm and his door unlocked?

**Do you want to burn this thing to the ground with us in it?!**

"Humph!" Keith folded his arms, sulking. "It was a dark and I was cold! It was the first thing I thought of!" Then his 'sulking' face turned into a frown. "You know, it's kind weird. Have you ever noticed how it take one careless match to start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?"

Kellyn grabbed a scrap of paper off of the grunt's desk - he'd run out of room on the last scrap.

**How hard ****_were_**** you hit over the head?! What is with your randomness today?!**

Keith folded his arms and pouted. "Well Kel I'm going to take offence to that! I'm just, like,_so_excited cos we're off on a huge adventure and we've just escaped a bad-guy prison and that's, like, so AWESOME and I'm really hyper and really need to rant now and—!" Here he broke off into a squeal of joy. Kellyn quickly covered the moron's mouth. The last thing they needed was to be discovered.

"**_Are you two quite finished_**?" Spark inquired, already out the door.

'_Yeah, we're coming_' Kellyn thought with a sigh, following the Luxray out.

Keith immediately jogged after them, as his little game of 'Let's Annoy Kellyn Until He Cracks' wouldn't work without a certain exasperated midget.

**So, what's the plan?**

"The plan?" Keith blinked "We have a plan?" At Kellyn's furious glare, Keith suddenly found he could remember. "Oh yeah! That's plan!" He looked thoughtful...sort of. "So, Step One: escape that cell."

Kellyn nodded and motioned for Keith to go on.

Keith nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Well, to be honest, I never thought we'd get past Step One."

Kellyn facepalmed. '_Idiot_!" He gave an internal sigh, removing his palm from his face. '_We need help_.' His eyes darted towards the ceiling. '_Owari, are you listening right now_? _Because if you are, some help would __**really**__ be appreciated right now._' There was no immediately obvious reply. Kellyn grit his teeth. '_Oh come on_! _The whole 'best friends from another life' thing totally doesn't work if you choose to ignore me now_!'

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ugh, Keith.

**They're far too complicated for someone who still thinks one plus one is eleven**

Keith rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to say: you only make that mistake twice?!" His eyes suddenly flashed open with panic as he realised what he'd just said "I mean once!"

Kellyn was about to facepalm again, but stopped himself as he heard...

'_Footsteps_!' He quickly grabbed Keith's sleeve and drug him around a corner out of sight, Sparks immediately following them. Several tense seconds later, two goons walked by and the footsteps started to die away.

'_That was a close one_' Kellyn gasped with relief.

"**_Kellyn! This way!_**" Sparks was looking up at something a little way along this new corridor they'd been hiding in. There seemed to be a metal ladder with a trapdoor at the bottom of a concrete slab above it.

"_**Another door**_" Sparks explained. Kellyn was wondering how Sparks could know this, but then remembered he was a Luxray with X-Ray vision. "**_There could be more Pokémon trapped behind there_**."

Keith however had a very different opinion on the matter.

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Another secret entrance!" He squealed with delight. In a flash, he was flying up the metal ladder that was thankfully cemented into the wall.

"**_Wow, Keith can climb like a Mankey_**" Sparks commented as Keith scrambled to the top of the ladder and hauled himself up onto the ledge. He turned a metal wheel and opened the door; or at least, that's what Kellyn could hear. Then Keith gave a yelp and he was sent flying off of the ledge. With great luck, he managed to cling to the ladder to stop his fall.

"Hey! What ya do that for?!" Keith shouted, scaling the ladder twice as fast now and disappearing throw the trap door within the same second.

'_Yeah, and I think he just evolved into a Primeape_' Kellyn sweat-dropped. Sparks grumbled. '_Sorry. Didn't catch that_."

"_**Moron**_" Sparks clarified, looking at where Keith had disappeared. Kellyn nodded.

'_Agreed_.'

There came a yell and something heavy landed next to where Kellyn was standing with a thud. One of Hunter J's goons groaned as he slipped into unconsciousness.

"Okay! It's safe now!" Keith called from up on the ledge. Kellyn facepalmed with a groan.

'_He's never gonna live this down, is he_?' he groaned inwardly. Sparks was still staring up at the ledge.

"**_I'm more interested in how he's gonna get _****me****_ up there_**."


	39. The truth

**"****Lunick can make anything happen, possible or impossible!"**

**"****For the last time: I. Don't. Know!"**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Thirty-Nine - The truth**

"We're lost aren't we?"

**We're not lost**

"Yeah we are. We need a map."

**We don't ****_have_**** a map**

"Well we'll find one. And why are you arguing so much today?"

**I'm not arguing - I'm just explaining why I'm right**

"Hmph! Sure, whatever you say Mr Padawan, would you like chips with that?"

**How did we move from maps to Star Wars? And what does this have to do with chips?**

"**_...I don't know you guys. I seriously don't._**"

* * *

><p>Pit, pat; pit, pat; pit, pat; pit, pat<p>

Kate never guessed how athletic Solana really was - that is, until she had to try and keep up with her. It just reminded Kate that Solana was a _real_ ranger and just how much _she_ had to improve to become one too.

They'd run through so many corridors that Kate had lost count some time ago. Everything looked the same and she was beginning to doubt even Solana knew where they were running anymore. It was miracle no goons had stumbled onto them yet.

Just as Kate thought this, the blue-haired girl ground to a sudden halt and Kate had to put on the brakes quickly to prevent running into the back of her. The ginger shuffled to the side to see what Solana was looking at, and then wished she hadn't.

Standing opposite them, a few metres ahead and flanked by a Torterra and a Salamance was Hunter J.

"Ah, Solana" the hunter smirked "Awake at last."

Solana glared back defiantly, drawing her styler but not activating the styler wand; Kate immediately did so too.

"You!" the former Ringtown Ranger growled "Lunick warned me about you!"

"Oh, I'm sure he did" J chuckled "He would never put his precious blue-bird in danger with letting you in on _some_ of the risks."

"Quit it with your nonsense!" Solana stamped her foot in frustration "Lunick cares about Kellyn and I, and us him just as much! He'll come for me, just you watch!"

J snorted. "Like that pathetic _ghost_ is capable of saving you now."

"You'll see!" Solana shot back "Lunick can make anything happen, possible or impossible!"

Apparently J had decided to give up on Solana, and turned to her new target. She extended a hand towards them - Kate in particular.

"Come Katherine" she said as sweetly as possible "I can take you to Kellyn." Immediately, Kate shied away, balling her free fist. "I see. This isn't what you want?"

"I-I do" Kate laid a hand on her chest, taking a deep breath to calm herself, her eyes closed "More than anything." Her eyes flew open again, determined once more. "But not with you here!" With that, she activated her styler wand, almost as a threat. But Solana was staring between J and Kate. Her auburn eyes wide.

"Kellyn?" she breathed.

"Hmph, well, if that's how you want it" J grunted, raising her chin and her firing arm "Then I'm afraid you'll be comi— YOW!" She yelped with pain as something jumped out from behind her Salamance and sunk it's teeth into her lower arm. With a huge swing of her arm, she dislodged her attacker and clasped her hand around the bite mark, gritting her teeth. As their saviour landed just in front of them, Kate realised what it was.

Or who.

"Shadow!" she gasped.

The Umbreon turned, looking right into her eyes. And in that moment, Kate felt the Pokémon knew exactly how she was feeling - her fear and torment and dying hope.

"Salamence!" Hunter J ordered, her eyes narrowed with extreme anger. The Salamence blasted a Flamethrower at Shadow, the Umbreon leaping out of the way before sprinting between the two girls and racing back the way they had come.

'_Follow him_' A part of Kate's brain that was still working correctly ordered. And she did. She took off after the Umbreon, Solana on her heels. She never lost sight of him for more than a few seconds as they rounded corners. They were running at a speed Kate didn't know she could reach - but they had to get away from Hunter J.

Just as her legs were beginning to ache and her head began to spin and a dreadful stitch was starting to form in her side and Kate was wondering if they would ever stop, Shadow finally turned off the main corridor down a smaller side one. It was here he finally stopped and lay down, his flank rising and falling heavily as he gasped for air. Kate too slid down to the base of the wall, frantically trying to get her breath back.

"W-We'll be safe here!" she gasped to Solana, who was sitting beside her now. Solana gave what appeared to be a nod of understanding before the three of the them continued in their panting fest.

About ten minutes later, the stitches were gone and the breathing had returned to normal - but Kate was quite content to stay sitting down thank you very much! But now she was sat next to Shadow, running her fingers through the exhausted Umbreon's short fur.

"Don't worry, we'll be okay" she whispered, a small smile on her face "Thank you for rescuing us." Shadow gave a small whine in response. "We'll wait here for a bit. Then we can go and find Keith, Luna and Kellyn."

"Kellyn?" Kate turned her head to look at Solana. The blue-haired girl's eyes were wide with shock and amazement.

"Yeah, don't you worry" Kate smiled "Kellyn and Keith 'll find us, or we'll find them, and then everything'll be alright! I promise!"

Solana shook her head. "That cannot be. Kellyn is just a baby. What can he do?"

Kate frowned, then remembered something. According to Percy, Solana had gone missing, supposingly 'died', a month or two before Lunick passed away. And she'd been perfectly preserved as a statue...for all those years?

"Solana, I don't know if you know this but..." Kate took a breath "It's been ten years...since you went missing." Kate expected Solana to gasp or startle or something, but there was certainly no outward reaction. "Kellyn's eleven now. Fiore and Almia are at peace again. Murph's got a girlfriend...oh Arceus, that's a scary thought." Kate shuddered slightly. "And Lunick...h-he's gone." Solana raised an eyebrow ever so slightly, and Kate told her the dreaded news that she didn't think was her's to tell. "Lunick...passed away...a few months after you went missing."

Again, no outward reaction. Kate was starting to get majorly freaked out by now by this girl's lack of displayable emotion. And then, finally, Solana spoke in a voice barely audible:

"I thought so. You look a lot like him."

"Huh?" Kate blinked "Who?"

"Percy" Solana explained "You have his face." She smirked. "I always told him he looked like a girl."

"Oi!" Kate punched her lightly on the shoulder "That's my big brother you're talking about!" The two girls laughed, and Kate wondered if this is what it would be like to have a big sister. She didn't have a sister - the closest thing she had to one was Leilani who was just as much as tomboy at Kate was. "He's grown up now - he'll be 25 in November. And he's got a girlfriend. Or will, eventually. It's sorta inevitable."

"Really?" Solana asked, eyebrow raised. "Who?"

"Leilani" Kate stated. Solana's eyebrows shot up into her hair for a second, but she controlled her amazement.

"Lunick always said they'd make a great couple" Solana whispered "Whenever we visited Percy, Lunick always brought up Leilani at some point. Percy would blush each time without fail." Kate giggled at the thought, but stopped as she saw Solana go all subdued after mentioning Lunick.

"Solana?" Kate asked, wondering if this would break the blue-haired girl out her mournful trance. Solana let out a long, deep sigh.

"He promised we'd meet again" she breathed "I may not recognise him, but he would be there. Somewhere." She nodded determinedly. "And wherever Kellyn is, Lunick will be there! I'm sure of it!" Solana then turned to Kate, a confident and determined smile on her face. "So let's find your friends!" Kate nodded back, just as confidently.

"Uh-huh!"

* * *

><p>'<em>How much further<em>?'

"_**If you ask that one more time, I swear by Zapdos I will electrocute you! For the last time: I. Don't. Know!**_"

Meanwhile, what were Keith, Kellyn and Sparks up to? Well, to put it simply, they _had_ gotten lost. Sparks had picked up a random map from a grunt's room they'd been in previously and Keith was trying to read it, but Kellyn was getting anxious.

**How much further?**

He tried Keith now - he had more patience than Sparks. It took Kellyn tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention, because his face was quite literally buried into the little fold-away map.

"Huh? Oh" Keith blinked sleepily before turning his attention back to the map. His voice was still nasal from the cotton-buds stuck up his nose - they'd found them after Keith's nose had started randomly bleeding again. "Well, according to the map, we should reach the observation deck in about..." He paused, thinking for a second. Le gasp! Keith is thinking! "How 'bout never? Since _somebody_ gave me a map in a foreign language."

'_Give me that_!' Kellyn growled inwardly, snatching the map '_I knew we shouldn't have let you keep the map_! _Leave it to you to mess things up_!'

"_**Can you not mentally rant to yourself?**_" Sparks sighed "**_Because whilst your target can't hear you - I can._**"

Kellyn was about to retort, when he lifted one of his feet to take a step and the purple floor panel beneath his foot collapsed ever so slightly. Before he even had so much the time to squeak in alarm, the floor fell out from under him.


	40. Together fighting

**"Don't cry. I'm here."**

**"****There are laws against that."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Forty - Together Fighting**

Kellyn tumbled down the chute. It could only really be described as tumbling. It wasn't really plummeting, because although the chute went straight down, he was doing that awful 'spinning over and over' thing that results in one banging their knees, elbows and chin against just about anything and everything.

And so, after about 10 seconds of this tumbling (that felt more like an hour) Kellyn felt himself impact against the bottom, propelled forwards and out of a hole that thankfully took him out of the darn chute! Now he only had to hold himself together for the impact with the floor of whatever room he was tumbling out into.

Somehow, he managed.

He was in _pain_. Like, _real_ pain. As in 'someone beat both your funny bones and both your knees with a metal pipe' pain. He automatically remembered he shouldn't move, checking to see if there were any serious injuries. He noted, with a sigh of relief, nothing appeared broken, so he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Well, that was one crafty escape you came up with. It appears you're not as useless as you appear."

Kellyn bolted upright at that. Sure enough, to his dismay, Hunter J was standing at the other end of the Battle Arena-sized room with a Salamence and Torterra either side of her and a Zangoose just behind her.

'_Anyone else invited to this party_?' Kellyn thought sarcastically, climbing to his feet and thanking Arceus that darn Banette wasn't here.

"So Kellyn, is this what it's come to?" J shook her head "A big game of Hide-and-Seek across multiple dimensions?" She smirked. "But now you haven't got your little friends to hide behind. Nor your brother to come and rescue you."

Kellyn grit his teeth and clenched his fits. Yes, he wished he had some backup, but he was also glad no one else was here to get hurt. Shaking a little bit, he drew his capture styler and activated it, his little fist clenching over his heart.

J rolled his eyes. "If you must fight, you must." She motioned with her arm, and Kellyn tensed as he thought she was going to launch her gauntlet, but she was just signalling for the Zangoose to attack him.

As the Pokémon leapt over it's commander and bound towards him, Kellyn launched his capture disk. It was easily the hardest capture he'd ever performed, but not because the Zangoose was a hard target - but because it was intent on attacking _him_. Normally the Pokémon were only after his capture disk - meaning he only had to worry about keeping that out of their path. But this Zangoose was determined to attack Kellyn himself, meaning a lot of dodging and jumping was required - a true test of his agility and stamina. He tried being invisible, but apparently that didn't remove his scent so he quickly abandoned this idea. The only plus side was that at least it wasn't after his capture disk so the capture was over sooner than he had feared it would be.

J scowled as the Zangoose stopped, lost the angry gleam to it's eyes and took off down the corridor behind her - jumping right over the top of her Torterra as it did so. "I suppose you're patting yourself on the back for that."

Kellyn was actually doing no such thing. He was hunched over, panting and sweating and trying to get his breath back. That battle had been more intense than any capture competition he'd taken part in with the other boys. But, to his astonishment and slight horror, J started laughing.

"So this is your plan?!" she laughed, clacking like a maniac "You going to take on every Pokémon I send your way?! I have dozens of Pokémon at my disposal, and you're not even a proper ranger!" Kellyn screwed his eyes shut, trying to keep the image of J's smirking face out of his head. "Poor little psychic being, little orphan, all alone an—"

"He's not alone!"

Kellyn startled at the voice that called out. Opening his eyes and spinning around, he looked up and saw another ladder cemented into the wall and a another ledge with a submarine-hatch door in the wall. That door had been thrown open, and standing on the ledge with their back pressed against the wall was the one person Kellyn wanted to see more than anything.

'_Kate_!' Kellyn's face broke out into a grin, trotting a few steps towards the ledge where the ginger was giving him the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. '_You're okay_! _You're here_!"

Kate's eyes never left him, or neither did that smile leave her face as she told J: "He's not alone and he never will be!"

I can't even begin to tell you how happy Kellyn was feeling when he heard those words, because I don't believe _anyone_ can feel as happy as that.

Anyone that isn't him, at that precious moment in time.

...and then, that moment ended.

"Torterra! Razor leaf!"

In a spit second, Kellyn found himself pinned to the right wall by four razor leaves - two in his cloak just about his shoulder to keep him mostly still and two in his sleeves near his elbows to stop him from moving his arms. He couldn't stand up nor sit down, or even straighten his legs or bend them properly. The pain was back, and it burned like fire.

"Tooorrrrrrrr..." the grumble echoed inches from Kellyn's face, and the brunet found himself staring right into the eyes of J's Torterra that was practically standing on top of him with same evil gleam in its eyes as the Zangoose had had.

'_Please. Please don't hurt me_.' Tears of fear started to run down his cheeks. No, it couldn't end now, it couldn't!

"LEAVE HIM **ALONE**!"

Something whizzed between Kellyn and the Torterra, momentarily blinding him. The Torterra grunted and trudged off somewhere else - probably to follow the capture disk.

Kellyn sagged down in the position he was in and cried - just cried. His shoulders shaking, his face in his tear-stained hands and his breaths coming in gasping sobs. It felt good it let it all out, to try and get rid of his mental pain at least.

"Kellyn!" Kate's voice was suddenly beside him, and he felt the razor leaves being pulled from his cloak.

Released, he fell forwards, his arms stopping his head from hitting the floor. He took a few breaths to calm himself from his scare and cry, and then rubbed him eyes and looked up. Kate loomed above him, smiling but more uneasily and worriedly now.

She slowly extended a hand down to him. "Don't cry. I'm here."

She offered a hand, and he took it. And let her pull him to his feet.

The first thing he noticed was a lack of Torterra - probably captured and left. Second, he noticed a nervously brave Shadow (nervously brave? Ugh, seriously Shadow you're so confusing) growling at Hunter J. Finally, he noticed the only person holding a capture styler was —

'_Solana_?' he raised an eyebrow at Kate.

She hastily signed: **_Later_**

Kellyn just shrugged and went with it.

"Here" she bent down and retrieved his capture styler from the floor. "You okay?"

He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve to hide any left over tears, and accepted his capture styler with a confident nod. Then the four of them turned to face Hunter J and her Salamence. She didn't look happy.

And that was putting it mildly.

"Can't do anything without your little cronies, can you?" she grunted. She then turned to Solana and the blue-haired girl shied under her gaze. "So there are now three of you on this suicide mission." She looked at Shadow now. "Or is it four?"

The Umbreon whined, drooped his ears and ran to hide behind Kellyn's legs like a frightened Zorua. J all but laughed.

Kellyn tried not to think about the fact their only Partner Pokémon was wussing out on them, when he saw something that made his eyes light up '_Keith_! _Sparks_! _And Luna_!'

Shadow squinted and thought he could see three blobs, a big orange one, an indigo one and a white one, running up the corridor towards the back of J and her Salamence.

"**_Are you sure_**?" Shadow asked. And then a voice rang out loud and clear:

"**_KELLYN, YOU BLOODY MORON_**!"

Kellyn sweatdropped. '_Yeah. That's Luna_.'

J turned to see what Kellyn was looking at, only to have to jump on top of her Salamence to dodge a Psybeam that would otherwise have hit her in the face.

"What the?" Kate muttered as she ducked under the Psybeam that went on to scorch the wall behind her. Then she brightened up. "Keith!"

"Yo!" Keith grinned, doing the Star Trek hand - middle and index, and fourth and pinky fingers pressed together. He then noticed Solana and his grin faded just slightly. "Dare I ask?"

Kellyn shook his head and Kate said: "I recommend later."

Keith looked like he was gonna say something along the lines of 'uh-huh' or 'sure', but then he glanced at Hunter J and yelled: "KELLYN LOOK OUT, SHE GONNA HIT YA!"

Kellyn whirled around to face the Salamence - just in time to see the gauntlet being fired in his direction. He quickly leapt to the right, Kate taking her cue and leaping to the left. Shadow failed to leap.

'_Oh Shadow_!' Kellyn's face fell in horror as, in explosion of gold particles, Shadow was a terrified golden statue.

He didn't have much time to lament though, as J's gauntlet attempted another hit on him, and he had to jump away again. He found himself standing next to Luna, who had been sprinting to get to Shadow when he nearly ran over her.

'_Hey_' he greeted her, quickly so he could turn his eyes back on J nearly immediately.

"**_Great to see you too, now later I will bestow upon you the punishment of GETTING US INTO THIS MESS_**!" Luna did not sound happy. Oh joy.

'_Don't dump this on me_!' Kellyn protested, the pair of them jumping to avoid one more gauntlet blast before J turned her attention to Keith and Sparks.

"**_If J doesn't kill ya, I will_**" Luna informed him.

'_There are laws against that, Luna_' he reminded her. Luna snorted.

"_**Laws huh**_? _**Well what about laws against insulting an a—**_"

'_Finish that and you'll loose one of your ears_!'

"Kellyn look out!" Kate's sudden yell ended the slowly-getting-more-violent conversation.

Kellyn whirled around to find J on the now flying Salamence right behind him. Just as she was about to take aim, he flipped invisible and bolted for it. Unable to aim at an invisible target, J quickly gave up on her hunt for Kellyn and focused on a target that already knew her ways of capturing well: Sparks.

"_**SPARKS**_!" Luna yelled, and the invisible Kellyn turned his head to see what she was yelling at.

That was how he nearly tripped over the now-statue of Sparks.

His sudden fallen broke his concentration and he became visible again. He had to duck behind Sparks' statues to avoid the oncoming gauntlet blasts, his eyes fixated on the profile of the panicked Luxray's frozen face.

'_I'm sorry this keeps happening to you Sparks_' he apologised, careful not to touch the statue so to avoid unfreezing it. He didn't want Sparks to have to suffer being turned into a statue a fourth time - and his large size meant he was an easy target. '_Just give me a few minutes. Then you'll be right as rain again_.'

Flicking invisible again, he bolted from behind his hiding place and headed straight towards Hunter J. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he knew this was a place to start.

Then the unthinkable happened.

It started when Kellyn tripped again. He wasn't sure what on, but he hit the floor and lost his concentration again. J immediately turned towards him, a smirk on her face. Whilst looking up to see this, Kellyn saw Keith coming up behind the hunter, a look of determination on his face. J followed the psychic being's gaze and her gauntlet was fired probably before she realised what exactly she was firing at. Keith barely had enough time to skid to a halt before the gauntlet's fire.

'_Keith no_!' Kellyn threw his palm out, hoping his power of stopping that gauntlet's fire would help his friend. But his powers apparently didn't expertise in saving other people.

It was in that moment they realised that gauntlet was capable of freezing humans whole.

And J was willing to use it on a child.

Kellyn just stood there, frozen to the spot at the sight of his friend's frozen and terrified face. He couldn't even breathe he was so horrified. Keith's screaming face made his stomach lurch and he was almost sick. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to pretend Keith was okay and that statue didn't exist.

He opened them again. It was still there.

"**_You leave Kellyn alone ya big bully_**!"

"Luna look out!"

Kellyn looked up and saw J and her Salamence flying practically on top of him. Then, from the corner of his left eye, he saw a white blur jump up as if to bite J. But the hunter was hardly deterred. She swung round and launched her gauntlet at the Espeon at point-blank range. Luna squeaked with alarm and then, in a cloud of gold and white light, plummeted as a golden statue towards the ground.

'_Luna_!' Fearing Luna would be smashed into a million pieces if she hit the ground, Kellyn quickly dove beneath her and caught her. The impact winded him and sent him skidding, but it protected his partner from a, quite literally, smashing landing.

"And where do you think _you're_ going?"

The sound of the gauntlet being fired.

"Solana look out!"

A scream.

The blast hit. A statue was created.

All these noises raced into Kellyn's head as he lifted Luna off of him, setting her carefully to the side and sitting up. He was a bit out of the line of fire. Some way away, Kate had both her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with fear. Just in front of the door, it appeared Solana had tried to bolt for the exit upon seeing what had happened to Keith. And directly in between the two was J and her Salamence.

"Missed one" she smirked, turning her Salamence to face the twelve-year-old and raising her gauntlet level with the terrified girl's head.

Kellyn was struck with horror. A worse horror than when he'd first seen Keith's statue. No! She couldn't! Not to Kate! Not to sweet little Kate!

Not to _his_ Kate!

The horror started to be replaced by anger. He scrambled to his feet, pounding towards the scene of the soon-to-be-crime. But he knew he would never get there in time. But he had to; it wasn't Starlight or Luna or even Keith on the line this time - this time it was Kate.

It was Kate he was going to fail.

Kate...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

"LEAVE HER ALONE!"


	41. Here with you

**"Trust me."**

**"Always."**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Protector of Silence<strong>

**Chapter Forty-One - Here with you**

"LEAVE HER ALONE!"

Kellyn almost die with relief as J stopped her preparation to launch in order to stare at him. It gave him enough time to dash in front of Kate, holding his arm out in front of her protectively.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!"

J paused, her lips drawn in a tight line, unsure if she should follow out on her threat of freezing the girl. The psychic being had a murderous look in his eye - a look mirror to that of his 'older brother' when she'd last seen him - and she didn't want to make the mistake of pushing him completely over the edge.

Kate was just holding her breath, unsure of what to say or do. She was slightly afraid. Kellyn had always been slow to anger – a long fuse, but there was a nuclear bomb at the end of it.

Kellyn meanwhile, though panting with exhaustion and rage, had enough time to wonder who had been yelling. Whoever did was a life saver - he'd saved Kate's life and...possibly J's - because if J had hurt Kate, _she_ wouldn't have lived very long either. Whoever it was was plainly a boy - and a very angry one at that. Kellyn could relate.

That's when it clicked. That voice was a boy's voice.

_He_ was the only boy breathing in room.

He tried to speak. There was no pain in his throat - as if it had never existed in the first place.

"What?"

He spoke.

Automatically his hand flew up to his mouth as his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. He couldn't see Kate's expression (which was just as shocked as he was) but all J did was raise an eyebrow.

"So...I see" she said.

Kellyn was even more speechless than he had been a few minutes ago. He had always imagined, the day he would finally speak consistently, he'd have so much to say that he would just talk for hours. But right now, he couldn't say anything at all - even with all the words at his disposal.

Kellyn nearly jumped into the air when he felt a hand grip his own. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Kate coming to stand beside him, his hand encased in her own. She offered him a reassuring smile. It was one of those smiles that just said everything for her: Don't be scared, I'm here.

And he believed her.

He ran his thumb overhear knuckles in a comforting gesture before turning his attention back to the situation at hand. J wasn't going to let him go, and he wasn't going to run - not if that meant leaving Keith and Luna and everyone else here. And if he fought back, Kate would no doubt get caught in the cross fire - and he would _never_ let that happen. Not while he was still breathing.

The adrenaline rush from being able to speak consistently for the first time was starting to wear off, and he was honestly starting to feel a little lost. He tried to remember how other people (like Kate and Starlight and, dare he say it, _Keith_) said things and eventually he worked out how to say:

"Trust me."

Kate gripped his hand tighter, her understanding smile never fading as she whispered back in a voice so quiet Kellyn almost missed it: "Always."

Slowly - and reluctantly - he released Kate's hand and took several steps forward to put himself halfway between Kate and J. With a deep breath, he looked J in the eye and spread his arms out, as if inviting what J would inevitably do to him.

"What is this?" J looked like she was on the verge of laughing. "You're actually surrendering?"

A deep breath later, Kellyn nodded. _That_ was when J laughed.

"You fool!" she laughed "You actually think you're protecting the girl by giving in?! What's to stop me from harming her when you're out of the picture?!"

A hard glare.

'_This has to work, it has to._'

J snorted. "You make exactly the same mistakes as your brother - putting a girl's well-being before your own." She raised her gauntlet. "Which will give me all the more pleasure of doing _this_."

The gauntlet fired and the shot whizzed towards him almost too quickly for him to comprehend. Kellyn was scarcely aware of a heavy gale seemingly blowing past him before everything went black.

* * *

><p>Trapped.<p>

That was the best way to describe how he felt now. Encased in stone and unable to move. Heavy weights seemed to press on him from every direction, forcing him to stay completely still. But he was still fully conscious. He could feel the stone texture on his skin. His eyes were open, but he was onto greeted with a screen of darkness. And fear - he could still feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins, telling him he had to run. But he couldn't run, and that made the blood pounding in his ears seem all the more louder with echoing dread.

At least, there was no pain.

Physically at least.

Then, all that fear transformed into anger. His friends were being forced to go through this. Solana had gone through it for eleven long years. Trapped in this state between conscious and unconscious, alive and dead.

And it was all _his_ fault.

No, it was all _Hunter J_'s fault.

Kellyn felt a surge of hate run through him. J was hurting the people close to him - he would NOT allow that to happen anymore!

He felt his heart lurch as a power begin building inside him, flowing through his veins until it reached every part of his body, heat like a great fire on his skin building. The fire just kept growing and growing, reach out beyond the limits of his body into the world outside this prison. The pure power of the Betwixt and Between beginning to spill out of him.

J was going to stop. He wasn't going to stand by and let her hurt the people he cared about the most.

Never. He would never let that happen.

Never again.

* * *

><p>Kate raised her hand to shade her eyes as a bright white began to emanate from Kellyn's statue. The light eventually got so intense she had to press her eyes shut or be blinded. She could feel a great power swelling in the room, gradually expanding and increasing its strength. It was more powerful than anything she had ever felt before - seemingly other worldly.<p>

Then, that power released itself in one great wave. Its immensity forced Kate back a step, her eyes screwed shut. In the back of her mind, she recognised a siren going off, a woman's scream and someone yelling:

"EVACUATE! EVACUATE!"

Then the wave was almost forgot as, mere seconds later, the whole airship seemed to jump as the horrible sound of scratching metal rang in Kate's ears. She was flung off of her feet and landed hard on her back, causing her yelp as a burning pain raged up her spine.

It didn't take an genius to work out the airship had crashed.

It was a another minute or two before Kate dared look up and open her eyes. J and her Salamence were gone. Keith and the others were lying on the floor amongst pieces of broken ceiling, released from their statue prisons but clearly unconscious. A red light above the door was flashing - an evacuation light. No doubt the crashed airship had been quickly abandoned.

"Kellyn" she whispered, climbing to her feet. The white light was just fading back into Kellyn's body. His arms fell to his sides, and he was completely still.

"Kellyn!" A smile leapt onto Kate's face. "You're alright!" She began to run forward, but stopped in her tracks when Kellyn turned around. She inhaled sharply.

Kellyn's eyes. They looked so...dead.

"...Kate?..." That was all he murmured, his lips barely moving and his face completely blank. He took a step forward, but it was like all the bones in his body simply evaporated. He felt forward, Kate thankfully catching him before he hit the floor. He was clearly beyond exhausted, his energy completely drained. He just didn't have the strength to hold himself up anymore.

"Kellyn!" she called urgently, utterly horrified at what was happening. "Kellyn, no! Stay awake! You're gonna be alright! Kellyn!"

* * *

><p>Kellyn coughed roughly, sand filling his mouth. He tried to sit up, but he felt like a thousand bricks were pressing down upon him. He couldn't see anything, he couldn't hear anything, he couldn't feel anything; only darkness surrounded him.<p>

'_Is this what dying is like_?' he wondered, screwing his eyes shut.

"Kellyn."

'_No one ever mentioned it was this painful_.'

"Kellyn."

'_Great, I'm hearing voices now_.'

"Kellyn."

'_This is so not the time to be going crazy_.'

"Kellyn!"

'_Wait, that's not my head speaking_!'

"Wake up Kellyn!"

"Who's there?" Kellyn tried to call, but his words came out as violent coughing.

"Easy Kellyn, easy. It's okay."

Kellyn felt like he knew the voice, like he had heard it before. He tried to open his eyes, but they remained closed, too tired to open. As the voice repeated what it had just said, a hand gently grabbed his left one. Eyes mentally widening, Kellyn realised who the voice belonged to.

"Lunick?" he asked, his voice a mere whisper.

"It's okay Kellyn, it's okay" The voice whispered, a rough thumb rubbing circles on the younger boy's palm "Go on back. This isn't your place. They need you back there." Kellyn heard a low chuckle and clutched the hand. It was ice-cold, but made warmth spread through his body.

"I'll be fine" the voice said "Go back Kellyn. Go back."

Kellyn gasped as he felt the comforting hand move away and the voice silence itself. Immediately his chest felt heavy and like a knife had been shoved through his heart, whilst fire seemed to run in his veins. His body felt so heavy, like he moving boulders and not limbs. But slowly, the weight seemed to fade away, and he felt energy start to seep into him. After a few minutes, he felt strong enough to open his eyes. He was glad he did - the first thing he saw was Kate's face - concerned and terrified - looking down at him.

"Kate?" he tried calling to her. His voice was scratchy and quiet - but he was speaking.

"Kellyn?" Kate's voice was quiet too, like she could hardly believe what was happening.

"A-Are you okay?" he asked, now concerned himself. But when he said this, her face melted into utter relief.

"Kelly!" she squeaked and hugged him tightly. He cleared his throat.

"Oh, sorry" Kate back off "You don't like being called Kelly. Sorry." Wincing with the dead pain in his muscles, Kellyn half-sat-up and gave Kate a feeble hug. She tensed with surprise. Kellyn smiled and softly whispered to her:

"Only you can call me that."

Kate's cheeks turned a rosy red at that could rival strawberries. Kellyn then let go of her, one hand on her shoulder so he wouldn't fall back and bash his head against the floor. It was then he frowned and added:

"Don't tell Keith I said that. I'll never hear the end of it."

Kate giggled and tried to help him to his feet. Key word: _tried_.

"Sorry!" Kellyn apologised as he almost knocked her over. She just laughed it off.

"Oh, get a room you two!"

The pair looked up to see Keith clambering to his feet, smirking at the opportunity to tease his two favourite obvious friends.

Kellyn though now had his own opportunity to fight back. "Well who asked you to watch, Keith!"

Keith's jaw just might've hit the floor. Or, possibly, the floor below that one. Heck, it might've even hit the Earth's core.

"Flibbawhat?!" Keith yelped. He surged forward and gripped Kellyn by the shoulders, staring into the startled brunet's eyes. "When did you start talking?!"

Kellyn nearly answered: "Well, where have you been for the last fifteen minutes?". But at the last minute he remembered what had happen to Keith. "Um...while you were...stuck."

"Holy Arceus! You really are talking!" Keith scrambled backwards, his eyes the size of flying saucers. "Why did you start when I wasn't there to witness it?!"

Kellyn rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I didn't really have a choice, Keith. It sorta...happened."

"_**HE'S TALKING**_!" Kellyn turned his head to the right and saw the three cat Pokémon staring at him. Shadow, who had been the one to speak, was now fainted. Sparks was giving off what appeared to be a Luxray smirk. Luna had her head bowed and was muttering things like:

'_**Lunick, I swear, if he's anything like you when you started talking, I'll go jump into the Boyleland Volcano**_."

"So, how?" Keith asked, now sounding curious.

"Well" Kellyn tried to think about it, working out how and when. "J put Kate in danger, which made me mad. And then she turned me into a statue, which made me _really_ mad." He looked around at the fallen ceiling pieces and dented metal panels. "I guess that's when this all happened."

Keith stared at him. "_You_ did this?!"

Before Kellyn could say anything else, Kate added: "He crashed the airship too."

Kellyn blinked at her. "I did?"

"I think so" Kate nodded.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait a minute!" Keith stared at the petit boy "So you destroyed this and crashed the airship, scaring every bad guy in the whole place off including Hunter J, because you had a temper tantrum!"

Kellyn ducked his head in embarrassment. "Well, when you put it like that..."

"Kellyn?"

Kellyn whirled around at the sound of a female voice behind him. Seeing the light-blue hair, he at first panicked, but then calmed as he realised it was just Solana. She was taller than she had appeared in surviving photos, looking older than her fourteen years. Her red eyes didn't smile as they did in those photos either - these eyes were impassive and calculating, surveying him, no doubt to try and work out if he was truly the same infant she had met all those years ago.

"Solana" he acknowledged her, clasping his hands together and lowering his head so he wouldn't have to hold that crimson gaze. But Solana didn't reply. Nearly a minute went by before Kellyn heard something.

'_Sniffling_?'

He dared to glance up. Solana was looking down at him with heartbroken eyes, tears running down her cheeks. She was crying.

"Solana?" Kellyn wasn't sure why, but he felt the need to reach up and touch her shoulder. But his hand had barely been there a second before she squeezed her eyes shut and gave a fierce shake of her head.

She turned on her heel and fled the room.

"Solana, wait!" The urge was back again, this time ordering him to follow her. So he did, and he never let her out of his sight.

* * *

><p>Solana finally stopped in the cargo bay. The cargo bay doors had been ripped off when the airship crashed, exposing them all to a fairly beautiful view of a sun rising above a pine forest beneath a cliff they were evidently perched on the edge of.<p>

Kellyn couldn't quite bring himself to approach the now still Solana, facing the rising sun with her arms folded behind her back. She was...peaceful; which was strange, considering just five minutes ago she'd been crying in front of Kellyn like she'd found out he'd confessed to murdering her parents or something. She looked like she'd just listened to a kind lecture by a voice that had gently explained to her way she was wrong.

Hearing Kate and Keith as well as the Pokémon stop behind him, Kellyn cautiously asked: "What's wrong?"

Solana turned back around, her auburn eyes shinning kindly.

"You promised me we would meet again" she said, strangely in Kellyn's direction.

"I did" a voice that certainly wasn't Kellyn's said.

Then the poor brunet boy nearly had a heart attack as a second person seemed to walk straight out of him, faded as if he wasn't quite there. The midnight-blue hair and red Ringtown ranger jacket meant that even from the back, Kellyn knew who this was.

"I said that we would meet again, but you may not recognise me" Lunick smiled at Solana.

"But somehow, I knew it was you" she said "A small part of you, I could see within him."

"I wasn't the only one" Lunick confirmed "At first, I confused you with this girl." With that, he looked at a stunned Kate. After all, seeing dead people walking out of your best friend isn't exactly a regular everyday thing. "I sensed a part of you within her, and it threw me off at first. I thought you were already her guardian."

Solana gave a small shake of her head. "I always thought people like us were damned, destined to...fade into oblivion. But we didn't. We got to see each other again. And we got to see Kellyn, and Kate."

The two of them turned to the younger rangers, who both looked like they didn't know what to say about the whole thing.

"I have to go" Lunick said, looking then at Solana "So do you."

"My race is over" she agreed "But I wish to make myself the guardian of this young lady:" with this she looked at Kate. "Katherine Hitomi. If that is okay with her that is."

Kate nodded with a warm smile. "Of course!" she smiled "You should have just as much a chance to find happiness, Solana!"

Neither Solana nor Lunick could look happier.

"I'm glad" Lunick said "Whilst Kate and Kellyn are together, on this dimension plane we will be too."

Their eyes met for a second, auburn on aqua. Kate nudged her companion with her elbow.

"We'll be together always" she told the older rangers "Right Kellyn?"

Kellyn nodded his confirmation.

Solana and Lunick turned their gazes upon each other and nodded with a smile. They intertwined their fingers with their counterpart's, hope shinning in their eyes.

And then they were gone.

Kellyn could only stare at the spot they'd been, frozen, until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to look at Keith, the ginger grinning like the good friend he was.

"Good to have you back" he said. Kellyn blinked at him twice, then let his face relax into a smile and nodded back.

With that, Kellyn, Kate and Keith turned towards the rising sun, casting golden and red rays over the pine forest.

And at that moment, Kellyn thought he heard a voice in his ear. But for the rest of his life, he could never quite recall what it had said. But if he had listened just a little harder, he would've heard:

"See, everyone's happy now Hajime."

* * *

><p>"...Hey guys. I have a question...<p>

...

...

...

...How are we gonna get home?"


	42. The beginning of the end

**"I praise your Neanderthal intelligence. Now would you mind taking a step to the left."**

**"****Who do you think? Abraham Lincoln?"**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Forty-Two - The beginning of the end**

Hey, ya hear me?

...

...If ya can, say somethin'!

...

...You can speak, but you do nat...

...You're a pure so'l. Purer than most...people used to say I was pure so'l too...

...

...I grew up in a par'dise. An island in t'e endless sea. When t'e sun rose un' set, t'e sea would becom' t'e sky - flashing bright wit' calours of red un' gold. But evil, it tried to take away ma par'dise. It even laid its cold fingers on ma father...

...

...I thought I sta'pped it in me own lifetime - I dedicated ma whole life ta removin' it from ma home. But, now it seems it's creepin' back, when I'm not around to sta'p it...

...

...You've been up against ya own evil - Hajime, is it? And ya've a whole lat more to face before ya rest soundly like I did...till now. Yar journey is far from over, Hajime. Ya path still has many a'bstacles to cross and forks ya have to chose from. Irrevarsible and fatal decisions w'll be made, and you alone must 'elp others to carry that burden. Ya have a great battle ahead of ya, and it'll be sure to come for ya when you least expect it...

...

...You still asleep? Huh. Well, time ta wake up Hajime. You've got someone ta meet...

* * *

><p>'<em>Who <em>_**was**__ that_?' Was the first question on Kellyn's mind.

"Oi! Kel! You sleepin' on the job?!"

"Ugh...Keith, go away" Was the first thing he said. ...er, _groaned_.

When he got no reply, Kellyn opened his eyes, shading them from the evening sun with one arm. Looming almost directly above him was Keith, who blinked twice before his usual cocky grin came back onto his face.

"Wakey wakey, rise and shine Snoozy!" he grinned "It's really weird hearing you speak, ya know."

'_Hence why I only talk to the kids_' Kellyn almost said.

When they'd come back they'd announced to their fellow students the fake story that his muteness was just one big joke, he'd gotten two reactions. Most accepted the joke and dubbed Keith 'The Ultimate King of Pranking' as the story said Keith was the one to come up with the joke - but some like Rhythmi and Isaac doubted the story, _that_ Kellyn knew. However they'd all agreed to keep it secret from the most likely less amused adults - and that to Kellyn was enough.

But that was what Kellyn _almost_ said. What he really said was: "Wonderful. I praise your Neanderthal intelligence. Now would you mind taking a step to the left."

Keith frowned at the bizarre order but did so anyway. Kellyn smiled with contentment as Keith's head blocked the sun from his eyes and allowed him to close his eyes without feeling lightheaded. It took Keith a while to realise he was being used as a human shield against Ra's power.

"Hey! I'm not being used as your literal sunscreen, Kel!" he complained as it clicked, promptly sitting down in the grass next to him in a sulk.

Kellyn groaned with annoyance as his face was once again left exposed to the ultraviolet rays. The heat was unbearable - he blamed global warming, Kate blamed Arceus, and Keith just blamed everything else.

"You done your Maths homework?" said 'blame everything else-er' inquired.

Kellyn wrinkled his nose. "When's it due for?"

"Thursday, I think. Or it might be Friday."

Kellyn sighed. "I'll do it tomorrow."

He could practically feel Keith's grin. "Oh, Kel! What's this?! Has finding your inner voice, literally, encouraged you to become a rebel?!"

"Oh shut up!" Kellyn growled "I'm tired! And I hate helicopters!"

Keith winced at the tone of Kellyn's voice, starting to worry about what type of person innocent little Kellyn was going to turn into. But he had to agree with him on the second one: the helicopter ride to Ranger School from Kanto (apparently where they'd crashed) yesterday, was not something to be desired when in turbulence.

"Ah. Point taken" Keith just agreed. He then stood up and stretched, cracking his back in the process. "Well, time to get my arm wrestling champion badge back from Liam - can't believe the idiot thought I was dead when we went missing!"

And with that the ginger took his leave.

'_Finally_' Kellyn thought with contentment, as he slowly drifted back off to sleep, hoping that accented voice wouldn't disturb him again.

* * *

><p>Fingers clicked.<p>

Kellyn bolted upright. He was no longer lying on the grass of the slope beside Ranger School. This place was nothing, just a white and misty endless limbo. The Betwixt and Between?

"What is this?" he breathed "Am I...dreaming?"

"Not exactly, but you are asleep."

Kellyn, startled, turned his head to the sound of a voice he recognised. He saw someone walking out of the mist and rose to greet them. But then he frowned. He knew the person who had stopped about two metres away from him.

"Starlight!" he growled "You! How dare you come to us!"

"So, you found your voice" Starlight smiled like he hadn't heard the warning tone in Kellyn's voice "I'm glad. I didn't want you silenced forever on my account."

"Stop speaking in riddles!" Kellyn snarled "I know you handed us over to Hunter J in return for something!"

"For Solana's safety" Starlight explained "She was the one I was really concerned about."

"I don't care!" Kellyn shot back "The bottom line is you betrayed us!"

"For reasons you have yet to understand!" Starlight argued.

"Then you do admit to betraying us!" Kellyn snapped.

Starlight then did something Kellyn had never expected from him. His hand shot out and grasped Kellyn's neck in nothing short of a death grip.

"You have yet to understand my logic!" Starlight growled "I was chased and hunted for years, and made the ultimate sacrifice! Do you think it was easy for me to turn that sacrifice back on itself?!"

"What are you talking about?!" Kellyn spluttered, trying to not cause a violent reaction out of Starlight that could possible get him strangled.

"I mean, take Luna for example!" Starlight tried to explain "Your bond with her is to be marvelled at, but would you give her up for the sake of your friends, family, your brother and sister?!"

"What do you know about Lunick and Solana?!" Kellyn was starting to feel his skin burn with anger. How dare a traitor refer to his noble brother and sister!

"I know everything about them!" Starlight replied "I grew up along side them!"

"Lies!" Kellyn hissed "I don't even know who you really are!"

"I'm telling you!" was Starlight's answer.

"Just who are you Starlight?!"

"I'M TELLING YOU!"

Kellyn paused after Starlight's yell. The white-haired boy sounded genuine as he panted whilst keeping the death grip on Kellyn's neck. The brunet boy then looked down and noticed that Starlight really was telling him something. He wasn't gripping Kellyn's neck, rather than the necklace by which his locket hung.

Kellyn slowly reached his hand up and held the locket, causing Starlight to let go and take a step back. Unclasping the locket catch, Kellyn wasn't sure what he expected to see. But everything was normal. Just the two pictures of Lunick and Solana. Then his eyes started looking between the pictures in the locket and Starlight. No...that was impossible...wasn't it?

"You" he breathed "How? What? Why? You can't..." He trailed off.

"As Solana always said: I can make anything happen, possible or impossible" Starlight smiled.

He took a few steps back, and with every step his form seemed to change slightly. He appeared to grow about five inches taller. His hair shortened so it probably would've been close to shoulder-length if a headband hadn't kept it up. His Ranger School uniform morphed into that of an Ringtown Ranger. Finally, his hair and eye colour changed so they were midnight blue and aqua respectively. Kellyn almost choked on a gasp, seeing the person in front of him, the real form of Starlight.

"L-Lunick?" he breathed.

The ex-ranger smiled and nodded. "You've grown a lot since we were last able to see each other alone in true form. You have no idea how proud of you I am."

"I-I don't understand" Kellyn breathed "How could you... I mean...why?"

"Why, you ask?" Lunick smiled "Now I'm no good at long winded explanations so bear with me here." He paused before beginning. "It goes something like this. As Hunter J told you, I gave you most of my abilities in the months leading up to when I died. Most of them. Two I kept with me though. One to change my form, and another to see the future."

"To...see the future?" Kellyn asked.

"Yes" Lunick nodded "I knew how painful that power would be for you, so I kept it for myself to protect you. But this meant I could see everything that lay ahead in store for me, you, for everyone."

"Everything?" Kellyn asked. Lunick nodded. "Including your death?"

"Yes" Lunick sighed "I knew what would happen. I could have fled the village earlier, but I didn't. I knew what the future had in store for you, and I couldn't bring myself to change time to save myself at that cost. Part of your future involved crossing paths with Hunter J, more than once. That woman had been after me for years, believing I was the child in that prophecy. I regret to say this isn't that last time you cross Hunter J. The final clash between you two isn't for many years yet. But anyway, I saw that the two of you would meet, and I began to fear for you. I had suspicions that she had Solana, and I knew she was coming after you too. I couldn't bare for either of you to get hurt. So I changed my form into that of a young amnesic boy, Starlight, and watched you both." He face fell into a sorrowful expression "I never wanted to hurt you Kellyn, and it pained me to watch you as you believed you had been betrayed. I hope you can forgive me."

"Lunick..." Kellyn gave a small smile "You can see the future, what does it tell you?" Lunick smiled also.

"Thank you, Kellyn" he smiled, before looking up at the never-ending white sky and sighing "And now I must go."

"Go?" Kellyn asked, feeling crestfallen "Already?"

"I've already used up more of my allotted time than I should have" Lunick sighed.

"W-Will we meet again?" Kellyn asked nervously.

"I hope so Kellyn" Lunick gave a small nod "I hope so."

"How?"

"Hey, don't worry, I'll make it work!" Lunick shot him a cheeky smile "You're talking to someone who can plot, plan or plead his way out of anything!"

"Yeah, but I'm also talking to someone who manages to trip over his own shoe laces - when they're tied!" Kellyn added. Lunick threw back his head and laughed full-heartedly.

"Betcha Luna told you about that" Lunick smiled "But even if we don't meet again, for a very long time, I don't think you really need me anymore. You have your family in Kate, Luna, Keith, Rhythmi, Sparks and Shadow. They're your true family now." He smiled "Don't spend your days mourning the dead, or else you won't be able to take your place among the living."

As he raised his hand in farewell, Lunick dissolved into the mist. Then the white slowly began to fade around Kellyn and the silence ended.

* * *

><p>Kellyn slowly opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the outdoors. Somewhere, a Starly was chirping out a peaceful song as the wind blew. He gave a long sigh, he felt content. He no longer hated Starlight and he could finally let his brother's spirit rest in peace.<p>

"**_Kellyn_**?"

Kellyn sat up and looked over his shoulder. On the fridge of the forest, Sparks was standing between two bushes, looking like something was on his mind.

'_Oh, hello, Sparks_' Kellyn thought, smiling warmly '_You look like you've got something to say_.'

"**_Yes_**" Sparks nodded "**_I need to tell you something_**."

'_You're leaving, aren't you_?' Kellyn asked.

Sparks paused and then nodded. Kellyn gave an unhappy sigh. He had hoped the rumours spreading around the Pokémon that the Luxray was leaving had been false, but now he was going to have to face the fact his friend was leaving.

"**_I wish to find my pack again, I have family there I am sworn to protect_**" Sparks explained.

Kellyn nodded. '_Just don't forget us, will you_?'

"_**A Luxray never forgets its pack**_"

Kellyn again nodded '_We'll meet again, won't we_?'

"**_Just call for me, and I'll be at your side_**."

'_I know_' Kellyn smiled '_When do you leave_?'

"_**Now. I wanted to say goodbye**_."

Again Kellyn felt down-heartened. He had at least hoped to spend one last day with Sparks, or even wait until...

'_My graduation is in a month, will you come for it_?' he asked.

"**_I would never miss such an important date_**" the Luxray agreed "_**Now I must take my leave**_."

'_Wait_!'

Kellyn shuffled over to Sparks. He reached his hand up and unclasped his locket. He stared in amazement. The pictures of Lunick and Solana were gone. Instead they had been replaced with two other pictures: one of him with Luna curled around his shoulders and another of Kate with Shadow in her arms. He understood what he had to do. He took a deep breath, unfastened the clasp, removed the locket from around his neck and tied it around Sparks'. The Luxray brushed the item with his paw that sparked with electricity upon impact, making the locket unclasp itself so Sparks could stare at the two pictures. He let it hang again and it almost mystically closed.

'_Take it_' Kellyn told him '_Take it so you'll never forget us._'

Sparks purred and rubbed his head against Kellyn. Then he turned to leave, but stopped amongst the trees and looked back.

"**_Kellyn. What is your pack name_**?"

'_Pack name_?' What was that supposed to mean?

"_**Your pack name. I hear humans have two names. A name to be called by, and a pack name. Like your friend Kate, her pack name is Hitomi. You friend Keith's is Dazaru**_."

'_Oh you mean surname. Oh, er_...' Normally Kellyn would have said Solluna without a query, but after hearing Lunick's last words to him, he no longer felt sure.

**"Soon, that name will become important to you again. Owari means end, but Hajime means beginning. Never forget that."**

'_Hajime_.'

"**_Hajime_**?"

'_Yes, Hajime. Kellyn Hajime. It means "beginning"._'

"**_I see_**" Sparks nodded "_**Well then, farewell, Kellyn Hajime**_."

The Luxray then turned and bounded out of sight into the trees.

Kellyn watched the forest for a few seconds before lying down on the slope again, crossing his arms behind his head. He gave a long sigh. He felt better now. He had given Sparks his locket and he no longer carried the burden of the legacy of his brother and sister. He had even changed his name, and it suited him to the last syllable. He was turning the page, putting the past behind him and starting a new beginning. A new time, a new family, a new life.

* * *

><p>Knock, knock.<p>

"Kate! Are you in?"

Dinner had ended, but most of the students had stayed behind for profiteroles with chocolate sauce. Kellyn had declined the offer, instead going to see Kate - who he knew didn't like profiteroles.

The knock on the girls' dorm's door was answered by plenty of crashing and a: "J-Just a minute!"

'Just a minute' was actually only about 30 seconds really, before he heard: "Who is it?!"

Kellyn pushed the door open with a teasing smile. "Who do you think? Abraham Lincoln?"

Kate grinned back. "Oh dear - we were lead to believe you wore a beard and a top hat. Now we'll have to change that picture of you in the International History Book."

Kellyn shook his head, why he wasn't sure, but he was still smiling. "Oh what sense of humour you have."

As Kate giggled at the statement, Kellyn noticed she was sitting right back against the wall on her bottom bunkbed, both her hands behind her back.

He frowned. "Are you hiding something?"

"W-What?!" Kate stammered, a way too innocent smile on her face "W-What are you talking about?!"

Kellyn folded his arms. "Alright, what's wrong?"

Kate looked surprised. "Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"Yeah right - tell me."

"I'm serious!"

"Don't lie to me Kate!"

"I'm not lying!"

Kellyn snorted. "Of course, you're just being 'magonigal with the truth', as you say."

"It's 'economical', and I'm not" Kate corrected him.

Kellyn couldn't help but feel hurt. "Why won't you tell me? Have I done something wrong?"

Kate looked shocked. "What?! No! No, you've done nothing wrong!"

"Then why won't you tell me?!" Kellyn complained, his blue-green eyes obviously showing how hurt he was. Kate immediately felt bad and ducked her head down so she wouldn't be forced to look at him. "Please?"

That begging plea finally broke the ice. Kate heaved a sigh before bringing something out from behind her pillow that she'd been sitting against and giving it to Kellyn. To him, it looked like a tangle of blue, green and silver string with shells entangled into it, attached to a black box with a hook on it's end.

"Dare I ask?" he inquired.

"I-It's a dreamcatcher" Kate explained, her head still ducked but now with embarrassment "I-I made it myself. It spins, see."

She took it from her friend and held it in the air, and Kellyn could now clearly see it was three dreamcatchers on strings with small seashells dangling down around them. She held the dreamcatcher by the box's hook and then flicked a switch on the box. Kellyn heard the whirring of a small motor and the dreamcatcher slowly began to turn, little beads within it sparkling in the setting sunlight.

"You made this? For me?" Kellyn was stunned. In reply, Kate blushed and handed him the dreamcatcher back. "W-Why?"

Kate looked confused for a second, but then put on a small smile. "Happy birthday."

Happy birthday?

That was when Kellyn realised it - his birthday (or, at least, the day nominated as his birthday due to the estimate he was born in the month of May) was May 11th. Today was May 13th. His birthday was two days ago. What had he been doing two days ago? Then he felt crestfallen: he'd spent the day of May 11th with Keith, blindfolded and locked away as Hunter J's prisoner; and the night of his birthday he'd seen his friends turned into statues and almost died. Some twelfth birthday he'd had.

"I know no one else remembers" Kate told him "But I was making this before it all happened, it was supposed to be a surprise. Keith helped - he got all the material for me. Rhythmi too - she made the dreamcatchers. I put them on the strings with the shells and worked out how to make it spin. We knew you didn't have any _real_ family, but, well, I guess we tried to show you that you didn't have to be alone."

Kellyn's knees went weak, and he knew he needed to sit down. He shakily sat down on the edge of Kate's bed, clutching the dreamcatcher in his hands, and the ginger slid over to sit beside him.

"Kelly, you okay?" she asked, clearly concerned.

Kellyn bit his lip. "I-I can't really explain it."

Kate gently gripped his hand, offering him a comforting smile. "Can you try?"

He turned his head to look at her, and for a second she found he looked older, wiser and more mature than she'd ever seen him before. But then his troubled look faded into a small smile, and the innocent little Kellyn she knew was back.

"It...well...it's you, Kate."

Kate blinked. "Me? What for?"

"I… I don't know exactly" He took a deep breath "But whenever I'm not around you, I think about you all the time. When you're close by, I feel happy. When Hunter J tried to hurt you… I couldn't stand it. I tried to stop her, but…" He took a shuddering breath, and she realised he wasn't able to continue that.

She squeezed his hand. "I-I know how you feel."

Kellyn's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at that. Kate giggled - it was almost quite comical. "Really?"

"Uh-huh" she nodded "The whole time I was captured, I couldn't stop worrying about you. When I saw Hunter J calling you out, I knew I just had to stop her - your heartbroken look hurt me too." She bit her lip. "When I thought you'd died… I… "

Kellyn realised she was shaking as tears started gathering in her eyes.

"Kate" he swallowed, drawing her close and wrapping his arms around her. He remember the way Lark had calmed him in the Betwixt and Between, doing exactly that and letting Kate compose herself.

"I...I don't..." Kellyn tried to find something to say, but the words just couldn't come to him. And then, something did - a question he'd been too nervous to ask. "Is that love?"

Kate removed her face from his school jumper and looked up at his uncertain face with glistening ice-blue eyes and the bravest of smiles. "That, or something like it."


	43. Graduating

**"****Didn't your mother ever teach you how to share?!"**

**"****You wanna get punched?!"**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Forty-Three - Graduating**

"Are Kellyn and Kate holding hands?"

Keith snorted at that statement, not even looking at Rhythmi as he proceed to continue throwing paper balls at Ponte's head. "Yeah right."

"No, seriously, they're holding hands" Rhythmi was adamant.

"So they're doing something couple-like that they don't think is exactly that" Keith aimed another shot at Ponte's head. He missed. "What's new?"

"Keith, I'd really appreciate it if you stopped throwi—" Ponte stopped mid-sentence as he turned in his chair. His eyes bulged. "What the?! Are Kate and Kellyn holding hands?!"

Now Keith was interested. He craned his neck to look towards the aisle down the centre of the classroom. His jaw actually dropped. Sure enough, Kate and Kellyn were there, holding hands with their connected arms swinging as they walked. Rather reluctantly, they released each others hands to take their seats at either end of the classroom.

Keith was floored. He just stared at Kellyn as the brunet sat down in his seat and raised his eyebrow in a 'well?' motion.

"I don't know whether I should congratulate you or start pinching myself" he admitted.

"Pinch, it'll be more entertaining to see you in pain."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Nope, you haven't changed at all."

Kellyn just grinned smugly.

"When did this happen?" Keith inquired.

"Mid-last month" Kellyn answered "But since it's our last day together, we decided to let you know now."

"Oh aren't you so sneaky!" Keith snorted, a little miffed at the fact his - dare he say it? - _best friend _had hidden this from him for a whole month! But then curiosity took over, and he asked: "So have you, like, kissed or anything?"

"Keith, we're twelve" was the blunt answer.

Keith was about to answer back, but then saw Kellyn's point. "Er...point taken."

"You and Kate are a couple?" Ponte finally spoke for the first time since Kellyn had sat down.

"You just realised this now?" Keith asked '_And people say __**I'm**__ slow._'

"No, I was kinda hoping someone would tell me I was hallucinating."

"Well you're not" Kellyn informed him. _He_ however was saved from the rounds of questioning the girls were giving Kate by the arrival of six miscreants.

"The poor souls are here!" Keith spoke up, signalling Kincaid's class had entered the room.

"Not for much longer!" Tamie informed him with a grin as she and Verity decided that Sami and Rhythmi's desks were worthy thrones for them.

"As of today, we never have to suffer the droning of Mr Swirly-Head ever again!" Verity was also grinning.

Becs just grunted, deciding leaning against the back wall with her arms folded made her look cool enough. Isaac stole the extra desk that had been set up for Starlight at the end of the row and had yet to pushed to the side (on the account the teachers were still waiting for Starlight to come back under the belief he'd been kidnapped by Hunter J too - Kellyn though doubted he'd be back any time soon). Nick and Liam had decided to sit on Miss April's desk - Nick tinkering with what Kellyn prayed wasn't explosives and Liam putting on Miss April's reading glasses and impersonating her.

"So, you excited for graduation Isaac?" Rhythmi asked the blond boy, leaning forward in her seat over her desk to look at him.

Isaac frowned a little. "A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that 'individuality' is the key to success."

Rhythmi could honestly find no way to counter that.

"Well, thankfully there aren't _thousands_ of students at Ranger School" Kate pointed out "But I do hope we get the cool hats."

"Hats?! Yippee!" Liam cheered, giving up his Miss April impersonation. Everyone looked at him a little weirdly. "What? At least now I won't have _really_ short hair on my graduation photo."

"Yeah, third time lucky even getting there" Becs grunted. For Keith and Liam this was their third attempt at graduating. Verity's too - but she was a mechanic and they generally took longer to graduate than rangers and operators. Isaac, Tamie and Kellyn - the so-called "brainy bunch" - were graduating after only one year of schooling hence were a year younger than everyone else.

The weirded-out moment was shattered by a boy reading his book doing something very extraordinary. Translation: Isaac clutched his stomach and started laughing uncontrollably. Everyone stared at him. Isaac laughing uncontrollably? Is that even a sentence?!

"This, ladies and gents, is plainly the eighth wonder of the world" Keith murmured to Kellyn, who stifled laughter of his own.

Unfortunately they never found out what in Isaac's science book was so funny as to make to the normally stoic boy laugh, because at that moment:

"Causing trouble on your last day, Keith?"

Someone had forgotten to shut the door. Either that or Miss April knew how to open it silently.

Everyone scrambled for their seats. Well, except for Mr Kincaid's class. They just stood at the back of the class, looking rather awkward. Miss April walked up to her desk, obviously ready to begin some kind of speech, but then she stopped and glanced across her desk.

"Very funny" she sighed, now looking at the students "Where are my glasses?"

"KEITH HAS THEM!" Liam immediately yelled, pointing accusing at Keith.

Normally, he would get a detention for 'bellowing like a fishmonger' from Mr Kincaid, but as it was the last day he was sure Miss April would let it slide. Instead, he got fixed with a nice glare and a disapproving look that convinced him Miss April wasn't as big a push-over as he thought she was and Keith was sick and tired of being called a thief. So with a sigh he reached into his trouser pockets and handed Sami the glasses belonging to Miss April for her to pass forward to the teacher and then threw Ponte back his sunglasses which he hadn't even noticed were missing off of his head yet.

"In another life, you would've made an adept theif, Liam Nelson" Miss April stated, putting her glasses on top of her head in the event she'd have to read something. "Thankfully you chose to become a ranger, rather than becoming Number 1 on the Union's hit list." And with that note, she turned to both classes. "Well, class, this is it. This will be the last time I speak to you like this in this classroom. Yes, today is the Ranger School's graduation day." This statement was met by lots of cheering and whooping, mainly from Keith and Liam. "I imagine you have lots to talk about before the ceremony, so this is free time. Feel free to go to other rooms to say your goodbyes. But remember, when you hear the bell, be sure to gather in the main hall."

"We will!"

An affirmative nod from the former-mute.

Miss April turned to talk to Ponte, who had risen from his seat to talk to her. Meanwhile everyone else (besides the quartet of girls and Keith and Kellyn) felt compelled to leave.

"So, where were we?" Keith asked. As Miss April was in the room, Kellyn decided to write rather than speak in an effort to keep up mute appearances.

**We were discussing your astronomical stupidity**

"Oh, right" Keith nodded, then he realised what Kellyn had just wrote. "Hey! Wait a minute! We were not!"

Kellyn underlined the 'stupid' in 'stupidity'.

"Well...well..." Keith's face screwed up as he tried to think of a counter. "Well I'm not as stupider as you!"

**You realise you just admitted you were stupid there, don't you**

Keith was about to argue back, but then he realised Kellyn's point.

**Keith, if you're going to insult someone, make sure you don't insult your own intelligence in the process**

"Oh shut up, midget!"

* * *

><p>Ding-dong! Ding-dong!<p>

* * *

><p>Kellyn had always been stuck in the front row.<p>

Why? Well - simply because he wouldn't be able to see what was going on if he was in anything_but_ the front row.

But this time, he'd drug his friends along for the ride - because now the whole of Miss April's class was on the front row. However that did mean poor Nick was straining to see over Ponte's head. So now the whole of Miss April's class had a nice view of the row of teachers, the flowers, the banners, the streamer and Principal Lamont on the stage. The only thing they couldn't see was the rows of parents and siblings and cousins and so forth seated at the back of the courtyard.

Mr Kincaid cleared his throat and announced: "The Ranger School graduations ceremony will commence! First, our principle's congratulatory remarks. Principal Lamont, if you please."

The principal took a step forwards towards the front of the stage, getting everyone's attention instantly. There was a proud smile on the man's face. "Congratulations graduates! I am truly delighted that I can be here to greet this day with all of you! Rangers, operators and mechanics. Though these paths may take you in different directions, what I hope for all of you is but the same. Don't worry, I'm not going to say anything impossibly difficult or challenging." He cleared his throat. "'Please don't forget to smile'. That is all I wish of you. With these simple words, I wish you the very best of luck in all your endeavours."

As the principal finished his speech, he took a step back and allowed Mr Kincaid to continue.

"Thank you Principal Lamont" If Kellyn wasn't mistaken, Kincaid seemed to be enjoying all the attention. It wouldn't surprise him. "Next, let me call upon this graduating class's valedictorian. That would be our best student, Isaac Iori."

With a few supporting claps, Isaac got up from his seat at the end of his row and walked up onto the stage, unfolding a piece of overly-creased paper that had a speech written in it on it in extremely neat handwriting.

"I'm glad _I_ don't have to make a speech" Keith muttered. A few seconds later, he felt a knock against his knee. He looked at Kellyn, who was sitting to his right, and the brunet discreetly passed him a scrunched up piece of paper. Discreetly folding it open, Keith managed to read:

**You'd be a ****_terrible_**** speech-maker. But I'd be even worse.**

Keith was so busy trying to stop himself laughing he almost missed Isaac's speech.

"Today, we leave the shelter of this place of learning and nurturing. It's a giant step for us in our pursuits of our long-held dreams" he read, shifting his fingers now and again so they didn't cover what he was reading. "To the teachers who inspired us, to Janice who was mother to us all, to all the Pokémon that loved us, and to all the books of the library...we will never forget. Thank you so very, very much from all of us!"

Surrounded by applause from the audience and fellow students, Isaac shook the principal's hand and took his seat again.

Mr Kincaid was obviously the first to speak after his favourite student's speech. "Isaac, thank you for those most moving words. Next, the conferring of the graduation certificates."

Miss April then took over. "I would like to call upon one student as the representative of the graduating class." Her kind gaze swept across the students, before it finally settled on Kellyn. "Kellyn Solluna. Step forward, please."

Kellyn was absolutely floored. He was surprised his eyes didn't pop out of his head or his jaw crack from smashing into the floor.

"Whoa!" Keith elbowed him to get him to look at him "You're the representative! That's wicked cool, Kel!"

Kellyn still couldn't move, too frozen to do anything. He felt a hand come to rest over his own. He turned his head to look at the owner of the hand, only to face-to-face with Kate's encouraging smile.

"Go on" she whispered.

"_**OH MY GOSH! HE'S THE CLASS REPRESENTATIVE!**_"

"**_Wahoo! Good going Kel-lyn!_**"

"**_...Hooraay..._**"

"**_Sparks, can't you just sound the teensiest bit happy for him?!_**"

"**_...hooray?_**"

That short banter, however faint it sounded, brought a small smile to Kellyn's face. His Pokémon friends were there for him - where, he didn't know - but they were there for him. And so were the rest of his mis-matched family. They were all watching him, from wherever they may be stood.

With a deep breath and multiple smiles of encouragement, he rose from his seat and headed up to the stage. However, he was stopped as a huge boom shook the earth. Everyone jumped up from their seats, whilst everyone already standing jumped back from the stage.

"What was that?!" Keith yelped "An earthquake?!"

"A giant?!" Tamie squeaked.

"A bomb?!" Verity shrieked.

"A _nuclear_ bomb?!" Liam added to that.

Well, you can imagine how _that_ went down.

"Everybody calm down!"

"Settle everyone! Don't panic! We're rangers!"

Kellyn recognised the two voices that yelled out over the screaming crowd. Glancing over his shoulder, he caught a quick glance of Percy and Leilani trying to calm the crowd before his attention was distracted by Rhythmi yelling:

"That noise came from the basement!"

"Everyone keep calm!" Miss April tried to keep the students calm whilst Percy and Leilani dealt with the families.

Suddenly, Mr Kincaid gasped and rushed up onto the stage, but wherever he was going it was apparent Principal Lamont was blocking his path. The principal raised an eyebrow, clearly questioning where the teacher was going.

"I...I'll go see what that was!" Kincaid blurted out before quickly dashing into the basement.

Principal Lamont frowned with deep confusion before stepping off the stage and motioning for Kaplan to approach him. But before he got the chance, everyone froze as they heard Kincaid wail: "Waah! Stop! Stop that!"

As if cued, two Tangrowth burst out of the basement, not looking happy or friendly.

"Eeeeeeep!" one of the girls shrieked.

"It's bad! Run!" someone else yelled. That was advice everyone was willing to stick to. Unfortunately...

"Who locked the door?!" someone wailed, this time an adult. This was followed by multiple frantic bangs on the door to the outside.

"Mr Kincaid has the key!" Kaplan yelled over the crowd.

"Then where's Mr Kimlake?!" another adult shot back.

"Wherever those things came from!" Liam answered in a similar panicky tone. That just brought about more wailing and screaming and banging.

"**_Eeeeeep! There are evil monsters in there!_**" This shriek was followed by the thud of someone fainting in the dirt outside the door.

"**_Stand back! I'll blast it down!_**"

"**_Ooh! Let me get a piece of that!_**"

'_Stop_!' Kellyn quickly mentally called out to them '_Don't Psybeam or Thunderbolt it_! _There are people on this side who could get hurt_!'

"**_Awww..._**' Only Luna would get _that_ disappointed at not being able to blast something with a Psybeam.

"**_Start looking for a way in! Luna, try and get over the wall! Shadow, wake up and look for holes in the walls! I'll see if we can dig under!_**"

"**_Who put _****you****_ in charge, Thunder Pants?!_**"

'_They'll never get here fast enough_' Kellyn couldn't help but think.

The Tangrowth were approaching, and even though they were very slow creatures they could cause some serious damage with their strength alone.

"Split up and take them down!" Percy was suddenly next to him, one hand on Kate's shoulder and the other one Kellyn's. "Katherine, you and I'll take the one of the right, the bigger one! Kellyn and Keith, can you capture the other one?"

"You bet!" Keith gave the ranger a thumbs-up "You ready to capture Kel?"

Inwardly wondering with a slight groan what he'd got himself into _again_, Kellyn nodded back.

He had just enough time to hear Kate yell: "Good luck, guys!", before they threw themselves into battle.

* * *

><p>There were times when Owari was confused by new events, and other times he was just exasperated. This was one of those latter times.<p>

"What are you two doing?" he inquired, folding his arms as he let his portal close behind him and he glanced across the Betwixt and Between.

Some distance away, sitting by the foot of a single bed, Hwita and Reo were watching a viewing portal, a bucket of popcorn between them (literally - a bucket. As in, a _plastic_ bucket usually used to stop leaks rather than a paper one you get at the cinema) and they were both holding paper bags full of sweets, plainly nicked from some poor five-year-old going to see Ice Age or Monsters Inc.

"Yeah! Do a flip!" was the reply.

Owari sighed and strode over so he was standing above them, looking into the viewing portal they had opened _without his consent!_ In it, he could see two Tangrowth squaring off against one big ranger and a trio students. Judging by the courtyard they were in, Owari guessed it was graduation day.

"Ah, that" he nodded "But, why are you guys treating it like a Laurel and Hardy show?"

"Because it's so funny!" Reo cheered, bouncing up and down in his seat, his red hair beating against his head as he did so. Honestly, Palkia's messenger could be so hyper at times.

"I've gotta agree with the kid" Hwita was grinning, shovelling in another mouthful of popcorn "I mean, the ginger one's hilarious!"

"Which one?" Owari asked.

"The guy!" Hwita answered, now going for a block of caramel fudge.

"That doesn't exactly clear things up - there's a heck of a lot of ginger guys down there and they're nearly all Hitomis" Owari informed her.

The only reply he got for this was another gale of hysterical laughter as the one Owari believed was called Keith tripped over his untied shoelaces and then had to roll away to avoid a whack to the head that would've crushed his skull.

'_Sadistic sense of humour_' Owari couldn't help but think.

He then frowned at Azrael, who was still lying in bed. But now his bed was sitting in the middle of the centre section of the Betwixt and Between at midday - when traffic was normally at it's worse.

Must be a slow day or something.

"Would someone like to explain Azrael?" Owari asked, pointing at the sleeping teenager just to make sure the others got what he was saying. He knew sixteen-year-olds liked their lie-ins, but Azrael had been sixteen for a _very_ long time and had never done this before.

"Well, you see..." Of course Reo would be responsible for this "I couldn't get him outta bed, so..."

"So you brought the whole bed with him" Owari finished, seriously wondering how stupid his colleagues were.

"Oh, and Kellyn's the class representative" Hwita added

_That_ got Owari's attention. "He got the certificate?"

"Well, not yet" Hwita explained "He was about to get it, when the big, the bad and the ugly turned up."

"Hwita, can you please have a word with Dialga and tell her to stop using Kellyn as a source of amusement" Owari sighed, punching the bridge of his nose.

Hwita shrugged, rummaging through her paper bag whilst finishing off a Dolly Mixture. "I dunno if she'll agree - paradoxes are fun to mess with. Ooh! Cola Bottle!"

"Cola Bottle?!" Owari's eyes went wide as his mouth began to water. Nothing in any dimension was better than Cola Bottles - that was a fact! "Gimme! Gimme!"

"No, go away!" Hwita hissed, shoving Owari back as Arceus' messenger dove for the Cola Bottle in her hand.

"C'mon, just gimme a piece!" Owari begged, desperately reaching for the Cola Bottle "Just the neck! Or a piece of the bottle!"

"No way, O-war-ai!" Hwita smirked, making Owari's name rhyme with 'no way' "I'm saving every last bite!"

"Didn't your mother ever teach you how to share?!" Owari complained. But in the process, he accidentally knocked over the bucket full of popcorn.

"My popcorn!" Reo whined "'Wari I'm gonna kill ya!" And with that the small child sprung and join in the struggle.

Azrael groaned with exasperation, rolling over in his bed. "I'm surrounded by idiots."

* * *

><p>Kellyn had never admired how good Tangrowth were at climbing. But he was now, whilst watching the two previously captured Pokémon scale the school wall and make their hasty exit.<p>

"Yeah! Take that you party crashers!" That was Keith of course, not Kellyn.

"Yes! Capture successful!" Kate cheered while throwing her fist in the air in celebration; at about the same time her brother headed over to calm the crowd still trying to get out via the locked door.

"You guys are awesome!" Rhythmi cheered, approaching them now the danger had passed.

"Yup, we are!" Keith grinned, performing the same ranger pose as he had back on Nabiki Beach at the time of the one-day internship all those months ago. Kate and Kellyn couldn't help but join in.

"And now you just look like circus performers" Rhythmi then informed them.

"Hey! That was a genuine ranger pose I'll have you know!" Keith complained.

"Seriously, who showed you that?! Crawford the clown?!"

"Like you would know, Miss Operator Know-it-all!"

Any further argument was halted as the teachers got all the students to sit down again (now on the floor since most of their fold-away chairs had been used as deformed missiles during the previous battle) and Percy and Leilani encouraged the families to take their seats - although most of the smaller children insisted on sitting on Mummy's knee now.

Mr Kincaid had been dragged out of the basement and was now stood in front of Principal Lamont, extremely flustered.

"Mr Kincaid, are you alright?" the principal asked, clearly concerned "You're not hurt, are you?"

"I...I think..." the teacher with a truck-load of hair gel on his head looked like he was struggling to find any words at all "Yes, yes. I'm fine. I must admit, even I couldn't tell what an earth was happening..."

"Ah, so even Mr Kincaid is at a loss as to why those Tangrowth rampaged" the principal realised "That is a shame."

'_They came from __**his **__basement_' Kellyn couldn't help but think '_Ought he to know why they were so upset, or why they were even down there in the first place_?'

"Still, everyone seems to be safe" the principal went on "That is certainly a great relief. Shall we continue on with our graduation ceremony?"

Whilst many people just wanted to bolt for the exit already, all the students and other members of the crowd wanted the ceremony to end first so indeed the graduation ceremony did continue even after all the chaos.

"I would like to call upon one student as the representative of the graduating class" Miss April repeated in the same tone as last time "Kellyn Solluna. Step forward, please."

This time, Kellyn _did_ make it to the stage and shook hands with Principal Lamont, who still had that proud smile on his fairly-old looking face.

"Kellyn, and Keith and Kate" the principal quickly added on, making the two other students snap their heads up with surprise. "Thank you for coming to the protection of everyone! It was very impressive to see you going about your captures with no panic. You've provided everyone with a good example of taking charge in a crisis. Now, as representative of the graduating class, I confer you this certificate."

After being handed the silver certificate with all twelve of their names written on it, Kellyn headed back to his seat (or, spot on the floor now), his head ducked with embarrassment with the applause he was getting.

"The time has come for you to set sail into the vast horizon that is your future" Principal Lamont began his final speech "In closing, I will once again say this: 'Please don't forget to smile'. Congratulations, grads!"

Party-poppers blew from somewhere and confetti rained down upon the stage. Everyone jumped to their feet and cheered. Only Liam threw a hat in the air though, because only *he* had insisted on wearing a Hard Rock Cafe cap to his graduation.

"We graduated!" Keith cheered, absolutely overjoyed.

He tackle Kellyn to the ground and grabbed him in a friendly headlock. Kellyn struggled to get out of it at first, but eventually just gave in and laughed as quietly as possible. It wasn't long before Kate and Rhythmi joined in on the group hug, cheering slightly less boisterously than Keith.

"**_Well done Kellyn._**"

"_**Alright! Now we're real partners! Oi Shadow, wakey wakey! He graduated!**_"

"**_...ugh...yeah..._**"

'_We graduated_' the thought kept on running around Kellyn's head, but he could barely believe it '_I'm a ranger. A __**real**__ ranger. Just like you, Lunick_.'

* * *

><p>Due to the Tangrowth incident, everyone preferred the idea of holding the after-grad party outside. All the families met up with the graduates and enjoyed the refreshments available.<p>

The Hitomi family was no exception.

"Percy!" Kate squealed with joy, giving her older brother the biggest hug she could.

"My little Katherine, a real ranger" he smiled, holding on to her so tight Kellyn was surprised she could breathe. "Now I can beat you at the Safra Sea Challenge without Cameron blaming a lack of training."

"Per-cy!" Kate complained, wriggling out of his hug and smacking him hard on the arm. "Leilaniiiiii! Percy's being mean!"

"Sorry Kate - you're on your own from here on in" Leilani replied, a smile on her face - a mixture of being proud and getting a chance to tease Kate. "Kids get a different priority to rangers."

Kate sighed and took a step back to stand alongside Kellyn. "You'll stick by me, won't you?"

Kellyn nodded immediately. He couldn't refuse her anything - didn't she know that?

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Are you two holding hands?"

Kellyn and Kate both looked down. Sure enough, they were holding hands.

"Oh, it's hardly a big deal for them - it never has - they do it _all_ the time" Rhythmi blew it off. She'd been standing next to them the whole time, drinking an orange juice. "If you wanna know if they're a couple - you're gonna have to ask them."

And with that she disappeared into the crowd.

Percy and Leilani both look at them with raised eyebrows. "Well?"

"Oh so what?!" Kate complained, setting her arms akimbo but not letting go of Kellyn's hand. "You can't talk!" She gestured to the older peoples' clenched hands. She pouted up at Leilani. "Lei, you promised you would let me know when you two got together!"

Leilani sighed and also blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. "I'm sorry Katie. I really wanted to tell you. But we only got together yesterday and this lug here—" with that she elbowed Percy. "wanted it to be a surprise."

Kate also sighed. "It's okay, I understand." She then smirked rather evilly. "Sooooooo~. How did you two _finally_ get together?"

Since Percy had turned all the shades of scarlet, Leilani took it upon herself to explain. "Well we were at the beach in Summerland—"

"Eeeeeeeeh!" Kate squealed, cutting her off "Cameron _so_ owes me!" At the looks she was getting, she laughed. "I'm sorry guys - I'm happy for you. Leilani, if he ever mistreats you, you let me know and I'll kick him in the shin!" At the reassured looks and the tighter grip of the adults' hands, Kate decided to go back to smirking to ask: "So when's the wedding?"

After much spluttering and gasping and staring, the chaos was stopped by a small voice saying:

"You realise they can just throw that back in your face now."

Kate and Kellyn looked down. Sure enough, standing there was a small ginger boy with two toffee apples.

"Who did you steal from to buy those?" Kate asked, feeling a sense to dread well up inside her. She could only pray it wasn't Becs or Verity. Or Mr Kincaid!

Sorrel snorted indignantly, frowning with disgust. "No one! I got the money from Percy! They're for you two!" He held to toffee apples out to them, but then hastily asked: "Kellyn, can I have your apple?"

Kellyn double-blinked to try and unscramble what Kate's kid brother had just blurted out. His face then softened and he flicked his wrist in a motion to show he wasn't bothered.

"Yay!" Sorrel immediately faceplanted one toffee apple, shoving the other at Kate and almost getting it on her jacket.

"Sorrel!"

"Whaaaaat?" Sorrel protested, looking up at her with innocent blue eyes. ...and half his face smeared with liquid toffee.

"You can't offer Kellyn an apple just to steal it again!" Kate looked outraged.

"He said I could have it!" Sorrel complained.

"Only because he's too nice to say no to you!" Kate shot back. Kellyn didn't know whether to be flattered or concerned.

Sorrel folded his arms the best he could whilst holding half a toffee apple. "It was generosity."

"It was stealing!" Kate corrected him.

Sorrel searched for an answer, then shrugged with his arms still folded. "Sometimes they're the same thing."

"The same thing!" Kate roared "You need a better dictionary! And when you look it up, there'll be a picture of me saying: 'OVER MY DEAD BODY!'"

"That can be arranged" Sorrel warned.

Kate opened her mouth to argue back about annoying, cheeky brats, but decided to keep her mouth shut purely because she didn't want to add more fuel to the growing fire in Sorrel's eyes. She knew her brother well - when he got angry, he turned into a wingless phoenix.

"Alright, break it up you two" Percy pushed between them, forcing them away from each other.

That was the end of Kellyn and Kate's talk with the latter's family, because as Percy began lecturing Sorrel himself, Kellyn nearly jumped a mile into the air a second later as someone grabbed his shoulder. He sighed with relief when he discovered it was just the only ginger here who _didn't_belong to the Hitomi family.

"Hey guys, I want you to meet someone" Keith grinned. He grabbed Kellyn's wrist and dragged him through the crowd, henceforth Kate being brought along for the ride.

Keith proceeded to drag them over to the edge of the friend, where a young boy was playing with a wild Pichu who appeared to be enjoying the company he was getting.

"Hey, this is them!" Keith called, and the little boy looked up, pushed a few stray bangs of black hair out of his eyes. "Kel, Kate, meet Lind."

'_Wait, this is Lind_?' Kellyn blinked at the small boy. But as he stared, it began to make sense.

The boy before them was probably around the nine-years-old benchmark, but was wearing only blue pjyamas with a Sunflora on the shirt, a pair of khaki-coloured crocs and was holding a teddy bear to his chest with one arm. He was small, frail and his skin was completely white except for a pair of black bags under his droopy chocolate-brown eyes.

"Kel? Kate?" Lind asked, the slightest slur of baby-speech hindering his voice. He then turned to Keith and began frantically signing to Keith, his hands shaking slightly as he did so. Kellyn watched with interest, and he got the vague idea of the message conveyed: Lind was asking if they were the friends Keith had wrote a letter to him about.

Keith chuckled and signed back a response Kellyn found he didn't understand (plus he was floored by just how well Keith knew sign-language) and Lind's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He bowed his head to Kate and Kellyn and stuttered: "S-Sarrrey."

'_Does he have speech therapy problems, from his coma maybe_? _Brain damage or something_?' a million possibilities ran through Kellyn's head, but in the end he put them aside as he responded: "No, it's alright. You don't have to apologise for anything. "I'm Kellyn, nice to meet you Lind."

Lind became yet another person to go bug-eyed that day and he turned to Keith, signing as if he only had five seconds left to live. Kellyn was getting a headache just from watching him move his hands so fast.

"He _always_ talks these days" Keith informed him, a smirk on his face "Actually it's trying to get him to shut up that's the trick."

Kate and Lind laughed at that, but Kellyn gave Keith _the look_.

"Hello sweetie" Kate took her turn, bending over to look Lind in the eye, letting go of a disappointed Kellyn's hand to do so.

Lind signed a greeting before quickly correcting himself and saying: "Heeyo."

"Did you come a long way to see your brother graduate?" Kate asked, her sweet sisterly tone perfected from years of practice with Sorrel.

Lind babbled some kind of response that Kellyn couldn't distinguish, but Kate mock-gasped: "All the way from Saffron City?! That's a _really_ long way!"

"Uh-huh" Lind nodded, sticking his thumb in his mouth as he did so, his teddy bear still dangling from his other hand.

"Keith must be really lucky to have you" Kate added.

"Yup! 'e is!" Lind nodded, his thumb still in his mouth but Kellyn could see a satisfied smirk in those devious eyes. Deep inside, he could see a second Keith just waiting to spring out of the box he was buried in.

Then Lind swayed on his feet slightly, and Keith's smile faded for a second before he announced: "Alright buster, time to get you back home to bed."

"But I not tired!" Lind protested, thumb finally out of his mouth, but he ruined it by yawning at the end.

"Oh yes you are" Keith countered, picking Lind up in a very practiced movement and letting the young boy rest his head in his shoulder whilst wrapping his arms around his neck, though this precautionary movement was fairly unnecessary because Kellyn could tell Keith would never drop his precious little brother. "I'll see you at the snack bar, right guys?"

"Sure, see ya" Kate nodded, and Keith took that as his cue to carry Lind off somewhere - probably back to his parents wherever they were.

"You're really good with children" Kellyn told her.

A smile lit up Kate's face - simply because it was _Kellyn_ who said it. "Thank you Kelly." She gave a wistful sigh, her eyes on the sky. "I'd love to have a family like that someday - with siblings who love each other like those two. It must be the dream of so many, but I really hope _mine_ out of all of them will come true."

"I-I hope it comes true too" Kellyn agreed, receiving a thankful smile for his effort.

"Hey! Kate! Kellyn!" The two of them looked towards the main crowd and saw Tamie and Sami waving at them to come over.

Sami yelled something then sounded like: "You wanna get punched?!"

Kate and Kellyn frowned. "Punched?"

"Punch!" Tamie called to them "They're breaking out the punch and eclairs!"

"Oh, _punch_! Sure, be right there!" Kate called back, beginning to run over to them "Let's go Kellyn!"

Kellyn was just following her, ready to continue with the celebrations until they had to part ways. But he was jerked to a stop as something gripped his arm tightly, pulling him back a step roughly. Startled, Kellyn squeaked with alarm, retaining that habit from his days as a mute, and glanced fearfully up at his captor. He was surprised to see it was only Percy, but there was something strange about the ranger. His green eyes were hard, almost hidden by his ginger hair which had amusingly resembled stringed cheese before - but now looked more like an orange curtain that fenced his emotions from everyone.

Everyone, except Kellyn.

Percy's narrowed eyes were the only things rooting Kellyn to the spot besides the vice grip on his arm. But then he spoke: "If you're ever in trouble, trust in the stars, and let them guide your footsteps forwards."

The baffled Kellyn blinked up at him as Percy's face relaxed into a smile. "Lunick told me that once, said he wanted you to know that when you were old enough to understand it." He released his grip on the child's arm. "See you around, silent child."

And with that aura of mystery hanging over him like a sheep's coat, Percy put his hands in his pockets and headed out of the crowd. And for just a brief second, Kellyn swore he looked just like Lunick.

But it was probably just a coincidence.


	44. The end of the beginning

**"****Don't look at me, I had nothing to do with it."**

**"T****heir destinies are interlinked with ours."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Chapter Forty-Four - The end of the beginning**

You remember Owari's exasperation and confusion in the last chapter when coming across the stupidity of Hwita and Reo. Well, I don't think I need to repeat it again: I'll just say Jethro and Nevada were feeling exactly like that now.

"...What?"

You guys who enjoyed The Chronicles Of Narnia in their childhood, like the author, may remember that in Prince Caspian, the rebels refused to hold their meetings at the Stone Table because they thought it was too sacred for such an act. Same should apply to the Council of Fallen Rangers' table too, right?

Well, unfortunately all the members of the council _died_ before having the chance or time (or patience) to read C.S Lewis' famous book series.

And then someone had forgotten to give them the 'sacred table - do not violate' memo.

Jethro and Nevada had just been minding their own business, strolling through the darkness, and discussing future meetings, what the world the world was coming to and how best to persuade Dialga to remove Erin Becket from the face of history. What they did not expect to find was...

"Happy Graduation Day!"

Jethro counted himself lucky his face hadn't ended up _in_ that piece of hot-pink cake being shoved so close to his head.

"...Erin...get that cake out of my face" Jethro grit his teeth.

Erin shrugged, readjusting her red clown's nose with her other hand which almost caused her to drop the cake. "Suit yourself, Grumpy Pants."

It appeared to be someone's birthday, or some important occasion (depending on your definition of important). The great table, so ancient and powerful, was currently covered in a pink plastic table cloth which was laden with silver, red and pink glitter, silver platters of stone-cold party food and a large sponge cake covered with dark-blue icing that looked rather inedible. Each member of the little reunion had a plastic plate but no cutlery, so all their fingers were covered in icky grease, and each were wearing some kind of accessory: Erin was wearing a red nose, Rafe and Solana were wearing those paper hats you get out of Christmas crackers, Lark was wearing a big pink button reading: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! (Jethro later found out if you pressed a little button on the back it flashed different colours and sung the birthday song), Lunick was wearing a pair of those funny plastic glasses with a fake nose and moustache attached and even the stoic Lind (who looked considerably bored with his chin being propped up by his elbow on the table) was wearing a crooked party hat with a streamer coming out of the top of it.

"...What in Arceus' name is going on here?" Jethro asked, his teeth gritted together as he _ground_the question out.

"It's Kelly's graduation day!" Erin announced, then pretending to wipe a tear from her eye "Our little boy's all grown up!"

"Even though you didn't know of his existence less than six months ago" Lunick reminded her.

Erin shrugged, stirring her tea in such a way Jethro was certain only sheer luck was holding the teacup together still. "Meh, senti-somethings."

"Semantics, you mean?" Solana inquired.

"Yeah, that."

Jethro then turned his attention to the one who had just questioned Erin - who was currently sitting in Nevada's seat, probably _just_ to be near to Lunick. "And what are _you_ doing here?"

"She was invited!" Lunick put in with a slight growl, but Jethro didn't need to be a mind-reader to know multiple people around the table were agreeing with the psychic being in his exact tone, just in their heads.

"Who invited her to this sacred place, may I ask?" he asked, but there was harsh tone to his voice.

"Me!"

"Me too!"

"She was a guest, like me."

"I would've if I'd organised the whole debacle!"

"Don't look at me, I had nothing to do with it."

Jethro was not surprised at the answers he got. I never said he wasn't furious and/or exasperated though.

Nevada frowned at Solana, who was _still_ sitting in her seat, for a bit before asking the whole crew. "Why are you having a tea party?"

"You're safe Riku!" Erin cheered out-of-the-blue, but by now everyone was used to such randomness from the former Summerland Base leader.

"Oh please don't" Lunick groaned, setting his teacup down on his saucer and sliding his fake glasses up his nose again. "I can put up with movie quotes, but I swear I'll disown you if you start with video games."

"Good thing we're not related then" Erin shot him a smart-aleck grin. The look Lunick gave her just read: exasperated.

"I guess I should've expected this from you lot" Jethro sighed, then turning his gaze to Lark and Lind. "You two however..."

"Rafe, can you pass the sugar please?" Lark requested. Once the sugar had been passed, Lark turned to their redheaded leader. "Like Solana, I was invited. It would be rude to refuse."

Lind looked up at them, stirring a coffee with a wooden stick, and rolled his eyes. "Don't look at me, I was forced into it."

"There was a cheesecake on the line" Erin agreed.

Jethro looked about two seconds from bursting into flames and cinders. Before you ask, yes it has happened before (Lind has already proved dead people don't allow the laws of physics - or any laws actually - apply to them). "Alright, fine. I'm calling an emergency meeting. _Now_."

"Aw, c'mon!"

"No~!"

"Party-pooper!"

"You're a meanie, Jeffy!"

But if Jethro called an emergency meeting, his word was the only law they _had_ to follow.

With a click of Nevada's fingers, all the party gear disappeared in a poof of yellow snow (Solana looked at Lunick a bit strangely at this, but he just shrugged and didn't seem bothered at all) except for the hats and badges and red-noses and funny moustache glasses that remained on people's heads and really just making the meeting look even stupider than it already was. Party-pooper 1 slid into his seat and Party-pooper 2 headed over to hers. Solana hastily moved from Nevada's stone chair and relocated to the armrest of Lunick's.

"Off" Jethro growled, glaring at her - appearing even more intimidating because he was sitting at the head of the table with his fingers drumming on the stone slab.

Solana jumped off the armrest and looked rather awkward just standing there.

"Oh, come sit here Solana!" Erin grinned.

She scooted her chair over, encouraging Rafe to do so as well (how they did it Jethro wasn't sure because he was under the belief the chairs were cemented into the platform below) and snapped her fingers. Automatically a chair popped into existence at the end of the row, which Solana took with a quiet 'thank you'.

"We're not adding an eighth member to this council" Jethro immediately spoke up.

The look Lunick sent Jethro after that...well, if looks could kill, Jethro would've had his second, third, fourth and eight-hundredth deaths right then.

"Oh come on, Jeth, she ain't hurtin' anyone" Rafe quickly jumped to Solana's defence. "Why do we only have seven members anyhow?"

Jethro looked rather disgruntled by this. "Because of the seven colours of the fl—"

"WIND!" Erin sang, pretty horrifically too considering it was only one word.

"Flag" Jethro finished with a warning tone in his voice, daring anyone else to cut him off. "Seven colours of the flag of Almia, where the Ranger Union was first set up."

"So there's only seven of us because of a flag?" Lark asked, tilting her head to the side in apparent bewilderment.

"Hey, imagine if there were, like, twenty colours on the flag" Rafe grinned "Imagine what ruffians we'd have to drag in here then!"

"Rina" Lunick suggested "Ivy."

"Grant Barnes" Erin added.

"Elijah" Solana suggested.

"Actually, he was still alive when I last checked" Lunick corrected her.

Solana grimaced. "He must be like, 100 by now then."

"Is Jackie still alive and causing trouble?" Lark inquired. This got a whole lot of grumbles or rolled eyes.

"Unfortunately yes" Rafe muttered "Always annoyed me, that kid. And he wasn't even stationed at my base!"

"Rico!" Erin quickly added in.

Everyone shuddered - even Nevada slightly.

"Can I please divert everyone's attention back to the matter at hand!" Jethro raised his voice, instantly getting everyone's attention. "It has become apparent you wayward youths - and troublesome adults - are incapable of being trusted with the welfare of this sacred meeting place, instead choosing to violate it wit—"

"Aw, c'mon Jeth! Don't you trust us?!"

Jethro grit his teeth at Rafe's interruption. "Of all you children - yes that includes you two leaders - the only one I trust is the youngest, which I do believe is what you call _sad_."

"D'ya hear that, ol'buddy, ol' pal?" Lunick grinned at Lind "You have Jethro wrapped around your little finger!"

"Oh hooray" Lind groaned, still looking unbelievably bored "Are we done yet? I have a cheesecake to go and rescue."

"Oh, it's already been eaten" Erin informed him. The glare she got from the thirteen-year-old was _not _pretty.

"And you expect me to keep your little secret in the mud when you ATE MY CHEESECAKE?!" Lind started off quiet and got louder as he spoke.

"Nope, you're doing that out of the goodness of your heart" Erin grinned sweetly at him.

"Well I guess I'm not very good then" Lind muttered, before turning to Jethro. "Sir, you are aware Erin and Rafe raided the confiscated drawer in your quarters in order to obtain off this foolish party stuff?"

"Spoilsport!" Erin immediately yelled at him.

"Lind, you weren't supposed to tell him that!" Rafe complained, despite the fact Jethro was more than aware of their little scheme when they set the alarm for his private quarters off in the process of raiding the confiscated drawer.

Lind shrugged. "Between being a liar and being tortured by Jethro, I choose the liar."

"But you promised!" Lark gasped, staring at him with wide eyes, as if by not fulfilling his promise to keep this little secret down he'd just sold his soul to Giratina.

"Well I'm un-promising now" Lind stated.

"Ah, ah, ah" Erin tut-tutted and waggled her finger back and forth "To quote Miyazaki's masterpiece of Spirited Away: 'But a deal's a deal, sweetie'."

The look Lind gave Erin for that could freeze lava. "You did _not_ just call me _sweetie_."

Erin shrugged. "It was part of the quote. Besides, I swear Yubaba uses the word 'sweetie' more times than River Song."

Lind decided this ramble had got everyone distracted and he was therefore off the hook, so he started adding multiple sugar packets to his tea. Jethro, who was watching him do so, almost threw up. _Almost_. Because real men don't throw up. Even real _dead_ men.

"Who?" Nevada didn't sound confused, but everyone who had known her for a substantial amount of time (like the other former base leaders) knew she was.

"Didn't you watch the last few series of Doctor Who?" Rafe asked.

Nevada now just looked annoyed, rolling her eyes to boot. "They're still running that thing?"

"You watch Doctor Who too?" Erin asked, turning to Rafe.

"Religiously!" Rafe nodded eagerly, his brown eyes wide and smiling.

"Me too!" Erin grinned "What's you fa—"

"Back on topic!" Jethro raised his voice, effectively ending the happy couple's joyful moment. "Due to the events come to pass on this..." he looked around the endless darkness. "..._day_, I henceforth put a ban on any non-council-related activities on or around the council table."

This was naturally met with lots of opposition, from yelling to jumping up from chairs. One fireball even flew over Jethro's shoulder, and the redhead reminded himself to find out from Owari if there was some sort of probation he could put on dead psychic beings' powers.

"That's enough!" he barked, shutting them all up and making Nevada smirk with satisfaction. "That's my final word on the matter! Have your party somewhere else! Meeting over! Shoo! Scat! Begone!"

Lunick sighed and stood up. "Well, I've got a graduate ranger to go and babysit. Let's go Solana."

Solana stood up and the pair linked hands and walked off down one of the paths of stone leading to the table platform, probably because Solana didn't know how to make portals yet.

Erin looked at Rafe. "Doctor Who marathon?"

"Way ahead of you" Rafe jumped up from his seat, but then frowned "Er, don't Aaron and Zara practically _own_ the DVD player?"

"So we own it back!" Erin told him as if it was _obvious!_, getting to her feet too.

"Oh~!" Rafe nodded with understanding.

They portalled out, probably to go and raid Aaron and Zara's (two former Ringtown rangers who had rather wisely declined to be members of the council) small space of Giratina's realm.

Jethro turned his gaze on Lark, who's eyes got wide with probably fear and she ran after Lunick and Solana without a word.

Lind gave Jethro a bored look. "Do you think they're giving away alcohol at this graduation party?"

Jethro frowned. "You're thirteen."

"Actually, it's closer to 25" Lind corrected. Not allowing Jethro to have the last word, he hastily portalled out, not even bothering to stand up from his chair. Jethro prayed wherever place he was going to had a seat in it, or Lind was in for an uncomfortable landing.

Jethro sighed and hung his head, resting his palms on the table as he stood up. "Damn kids."

"I hardly call Erin and Rafe kids, even if they do act like it at times" Nevada pointed out, the only thing in the darkness still sitting.

"...Damn juveniles."

Nevada sighed too now. "At least you can keep them under control...mostly."

A slight smile stole onto Jethro's face. "Well, you're always a big help with that."

Although she didn't realise it, a smile also spread across Nevada's ususally cold face. "Anytime."

* * *

><p>For all she stared into the mirror, all she saw was red.<p>

Hunter J scowled as she glared at the slab of reflective plastic, trying to convince herself that the mirror had got the colours wrong and it was all the mirror's fault. But deep down she knew it wasn't.

She slapped the mirror dangling from the ceiling of the bridge of the main airship away from her, so she wouldn't have to stare and the despicable red irises that were now hers. The enchanting mix of gold and silver was gone - replaced with blood red, fire red, devil red.

It was the boy, she knew. The psychic boy who had done this to her. Maybe unintentionally, but he'd still done it. Stained her irises red like the devil he was sure she was. Taken away the last slab of her innocent youth and beauty she had left.

"Sir, what's our heading?"

Only now he'd made her even more dangerous.

Straightening in her chair - throne she liked to call it - she removed the lid of the armrest, which contained a hollow area large enough to hold a red visor meant to be worn like glasses. It was this visor she removed from the compartment and slid onto her face, the red drowning out those despicable eyes.

"Head for grid reference K25. And step on it - we have a paying client waiting."

"Right, sir!"

Right now, her only goal was escaping this blasted region. She may be running now, but someday she'd be back for that psychic boy. She'd been eluded by Lunick his whole life - she would never allow for this boy to do the same.

Someday, she'd be back to get him.

And right when his back was turned.

* * *

><p>The graduation ceremony went on for several hours, but eventually everyone had began heading home or in the direction of Pueltown to get the ferry. Their stuff cleared out of their dorms, Keith, Rhythmi, Kate and Kellyn were stood with their bags on the path just outside the gates, trying to find any way of postponing the inevitable, even if only for a few seconds.<p>

"So~" Keith spoke up after a small silence had come over the quartet "Where are you guys being stationed?"

"Fall City" Rhythmi announced.

"Summerland" Kate added - there was a smile on her face and it was apparent she was happy to be serving alongside her friends and family.

"Ringtown! Oh yeah!" Keith cheered, punching the air.

Kellyn's smile was thin as he announced: "Vientown."

The smiles briefly stopped before they grew back, but like Kellyn's they were thin and weak.

"Different regions, huh" Keith said what they were all thinking.

Another silence.

"Guys...it-it's okay" Kellyn spoke up, trying to sort this mess out without making it too painful for his friends. "We can always call each other - the proper stylers have a communication section right? And we can send letters and stuff." He made the mistake of looking at Kate. One glance at the heartbroken look on her face told him he had to cheer her up, at all costs. "And I wanna postcard from each of you for Christmas and my birthday, or I swear I'll march all the way to Fiore and beat you senseless with my new styler!"

This thankfully prompted some proper smiles.

"Yeah, right back at ya" Keith agreed.

Another silence fell upon them. Kellyn hated the silences - they just reminded him with what felt like a punch to the gut that their time together was almost up.

"Y-You guys are taking the ferry, right?" he swallowed "You...you better go, or you'll miss it."

"Are you sure?" Rhythmi asked "I'm sure if we asked we could stay th—"

"No, no it's okay" Kellyn quickly shook his head, his gaze lowered to his shoes "It..It'll only get harder if you..." Unable to finish that sentence in words, he ended it on a sigh.

He felt a hand grip his shoulder gently, but he shook it off. "I'll be fine Rhythmi, really."

Before he knew what was happening, he was suddenly grabbed in a massive hug as Rhythmi almost _sobbed_: "You take care of yourself, okay! Don't you let those big meanie rangers push you around!"

Kellyn very nearly laughed, his arms stuck to his sides so unable to hug her back - he couldn't help but think of Rhythmi as his very own big sister. "I won't Rhyth. And you're going to be a great operator, I just know it."

Rhythmi released him and stood a step back, her eyes a bit red and puffy. "Thanks Kellyn, really. And good luck."

Kellyn only had enough time to give an affirmative nod back before:

"Hey Shortie, remember to keep your chin up."

Kellyn turned his head to see Keith had approached him now, his smile faltering slightly but stronger than the others'.

"And that's Keith Leo René Dazuru's last weirdly-wise comment of the day" Kellyn joked. Dazuru laughed and the pair bumped fists.

"I'll see ya again, Kel" the ginger promised.

"Sure - when I've outgrown the Shortie comment" Kellyn agreed "Next time we meet, I'll be taller than you."

Now Keith's smile could only be described as mocking. "Oh, so you mean _never_ come back?"

"You jerk!" Kellyn growled, playfully punching him on the arm "You _never_ change!"

"Then you know exactly what to expect when you see me again" Keith grinned. The pair laughed it off, before Keith and Rhythmi made a turn to leave. "Hey Kate, you coming?"

"J-Just go on ahead, I'll catch up" Kate told them.

Keith shrugged and the duo headed on up the path. As they were almost at the bridge, Keith must have said something, because Rhythmi kicked him hard in the shin with her shoe. Keith yelped and lifted his leg to clutch it in pain, before chasing the blonde responsible for his wound up the path. Kellyn and Kate watched the pair until they were out of sight over the crest of the bridge before turning their gazes upon each other.

"...So..."

Kate didn't know how to end this, and Kellyn didn't know how to reply to it. He wanted to say something to cheer her up, but just looking at her made a dagger twist in his heart and cause him further anguish. He was still trying to process the idea he wouldn't have her as a part of his life every day anymore.

"...Well, I..."

Unable to say anything, for all his now working vocal chords, Kellyn looked down at Luna and Shadow, who had moved to stand just off to the side between the two humans - Sparks had said goodbye and left for a scone time after the graduation ceremony. He knew this was the time: it wasn't as if he could put it off any longer - Kate was leaving and this was his last chance to give at least someone happiness for the rest or their life.

"Kate, I need to ask you a favour" he requested.

Kate quickly tensed and her eyes widened a bit. "Anything Kelly. Seriously, this time I mean it. I'll do it."

Kellyn swallowed. He knew she wasn't expecting this, and neither was the receiver of this deal either, but it was the best option for both of them, he hoped. "I...I want you to take Shadow to Fiore as your Partner Pokémon."

"**_Say what now?!_**" Luna looked as surprised as Kate did at that - which was pretty shock.

Shadow's eyes grew to be the size of saucers. Regigigas-sized saucers. "_**M-Me?!**_"

The Umbreon promptly rolled his large yellow eyes back into his head and fainted.

"**_Are you ever gonna stop doing that?!_**" Luna complained, smacking him awake with her tails.

The two humans laughed nervously at this display of friendship between the two Eevee evolutions, before turning their gazes back on each other.

"Well? Because if you don't want to, _I'll_ take him somewhere. Melissa always—"

"Kelly" Kate cut him off with a smile and a giggle "First you don't talk at all, and now we're struggling to stop you from talking!" This prompted Kellyn to duck his head in embarrassment as well as rubbing the back of it nervously. "I said I'd do anything you asked, remember. Of course I'll take dear Shadow along - if he wants to come with me that is."

Shadow stared at her. "**_I-I have a choice?!_**"

'_I guess that's something you're not used to_' Kellyn guessed '_It's your path Shadow - you have every right to choose the fork you take. But I promise you, if you go with Kate, it'll be worth it_.'

"**_And don't faint_**" Luna quickly added "**_Not that you ever had much of a good first impression on anyone._**"

Shadow looked suitable embarrassed and probably about to faint again at this, but then he shook his head in a very dog-like manner and announced: "**_No! No more cowardliness! I've got a new master - er, _****mistress****_ - and I'm going to be brave and loyal to her! Just like I was with Lind! Yeah, that's it! Bravery all the way!_**"

And after that much-needed if not slightly spontaneous rant, Shadow bounded over to Kate and rubbed his head against her leg, purring and cooing with joy.

"I'm going to take that as a yes" Kate giggled, before looking up at Kellyn and her smile went thin again. "We-we'll keep in contact, right?"

"Definitely " Kellyn nodded. "And remember - postcards. Every birthday and Christmas. Or else the blunt end of my new styler."

Another giggle was tempted out of the ginger. "Alright, I got it. And we'll see each other some day, I hope."

Their eyes met, and for a few heart-stopping second neither could move - trapped in the other's gazes.

Kellyn finally broke free and gave a single determind nod. "Yeah, I know we will."

The two reached out their hands and shook.

Shadow and Luna watched the two and smiled - no longer did they see Kate and Kellyn standing there, but Solana Hinata and Lunick Kazuki - two heroes saying their final farewells. Though they may part now, in time they would be together again, along with the ones they had sworn to protect. The Pokémon blinked, and once again they wre looking at Kate and Kellyn. Very slowly, as if to make these precious moments last, the female of the two drew back her hand.

"Goodbye Kellyn" she smiled, slinging her rucksack over her shoulder. She called for Shadow to follow her and, after a touching brief farewell between the two Eeveelutions, they made their way down the path towards Pueltown.

As Kate disappeared down the path, Shadow bounding after her, Kellyn lowered his hand to his side. He shifted the strap of his rucksack on his shoulder and walked towards Chicole Village, towards home.

"Come on Luna" he smiled, listening to his footsteps crunching in the dirt of the path. He heard a happy squeak before lighter paw-steps began to gallop after him. When Luna reached his side, she slowed down to a trot to keep up with him.

"_**Where to next?**_" she asked "_**A new adventure?**_"

'_More than likely_' Kellyn nodded '_Wherever our journey takes us. You remember what Percy said: If you're ever in trouble, trust in the stars..._'

"**_...and let them guide your footsteps forwards_**" Luna finished "**_I know_**." There was silence for a few moments. In those moments, they reached Vientown and began to walk down the left side of the town towards Chicole Village. Luna looked at him with shinning indigo eyes "_**Do you think we'll see Kate and Shadow again?**_"

'_Most definitely_' Kellyn nodded '_Kate's determined to make herself Shadow's third and final partner. And beside, their destinies are interlinked with ours_.' He shivered as he recalled the accented voice that had spoken to him.

**"Yar journey is far from over, Hajime. Ya path still has many a'bstacles to cross and forks ya have to chose from. Irrevarsible and fatal decisions w'll be made, and you alone must 'elp others to carry that burden. Ya have a great battle ahead of ya, and it'll be sure to come for you when you least expect it."**

"**_You okay? You're spacing out_**" Kellyn was snapped back to reality by Luna's voice.

'_It's okay_' he smiled down at her to reassure her '_I'll be fine, Luna_.'

They continued walking until they entered Chicole Village, passed Kellyn's foster family's house and walked onto the farmland. Kellyn smiled as he saw a dozen children enjoying themselves in the slowly setting sun, casting shades of orange and red across the sky, laughing and smiling at the start if their summer holidays. Four children were playing tag, three were making what appeared to be a mud pie, a boy was giving a young girl a flower, two children were eating gobstoppers... wait, what?

Kellyn startled and blinked. A young boy had just given a yellow daffodil to a four-year-old brunette. The girl gave the boy a grateful smile before rushing over to join her tag-playing friends. As soon as she took her eyes off him, the girl seemed to forget the boy was standing there, engrossed only in the flower. The boy stood up straight, his blackish-brown hair ruffling in the slight summer breeze. Kellyn's eyes began to gleam with happiness as he realised who it was.

"You came!" The words that left his lips were barely detectable by the human ear. He doubted even Luna and her sharp hearing senses knew he had spoken.

Owari gave him a smile before turning and heading towards the entrance to the beach, a snow-drop white entrance like a gateway to a world beyond. Kellyn then realised, leaning against a tree near the entrance, a girl in her mid teens was watching him, pale-blue eyes peering out from underneath a long fringe of silver hair. A grey trainer resting against the bark of the tree, this girl had her arms folded over her chest and a confident smirk on her blemish-less face. Kellyn acknowledged her with a nod and she nodded back. She then pushed off the tree, looking at Owari expectantly. The messenger turned to look over his shoulder at Kellyn, a single dark-blue eye smiling with happiness, boring into Kellyn's soul.

"See, you don't have to worry any more" Owari's voice seemed to echo in Kellyn head. Nobody else reacted, only Luna who flicked her forked tail. Only he could hear the words of his late friend, now matter what life it was in.

Giving one last smile, the immortal boy made his way towards the light. The girl looked at Kellyn one last time before also turning. Together, the two made their way into the light, their dark forms being swallowed up the peaceful crystalline white sunlight.

'_I know_' Kellyn thought, nodding to no one in particular as a small smile made it's way onto his pale face, his unusual eyes sparkling in the sunset's light. He didn't need a voice - not to realise this. '_I'm not alone. I never was_.'


	45. Epilogue

**"Better late than never, we always say."**

**"****You...you're someone special."**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Protector of Silence<span>**

**Epilogue**

Arceus glided through the endless white clouds, rolling and overlapping each other. It's golden pointed hooves split the white fog around his legs as he came forwards, making his way towards the platform of cloud with the sun's golden rays seemingly exploding out from behind it.

Arceus stopped, it's red and green eyes narrowing slightly. There was something standing on the platform. Arceus grew closer and it's eyes widened.

The stranger was a young boy, barely 10 years of age. His hair was quite messy and resembled fine soot, whilst his eyes were indigo in colour and his skin olive. His clothes were aboriginal and the same colour as his eyes and he wore a brown headband with two feathers, red and yellow respectively, poking out of the side of it.

Arceus' eyes narrowed further. It knew this boy, but why would he come here now?

"_**What are you doing here?!**_" Arceus asked in a half-snarl.

The boy dipped his head with a smile and recited something Arceus had never heard before, but guessed was a prophecy:

"Lightnin' strikes de forest, a ray of warmth shall absorb it, at Ho-Oh's Howe. Fire burns de seasoned earth, a ray of warmth shall smother it, at Ho-Oh's Howe. Water floods de swayin' fields, a ray of warmth shall evaporate it, at Ho-Oh's Howe. Eons soar across de darkenin' sky, a ray of warmth shall sooth them, at Ho-Oh's Howe. Birds fill de sky with dread, a ray of warmth shall bring hope to dem, at Ho-Oh's Howe. A legacy es born, a child es lost, a ray of warmth shall bring peace to all, at Ho-Oh's Howe."

Arceus glided forwards a little, now riveting with anger.

"**_What is this nonsense?! By what do you mean coming here?!_**"

The boy didn't answer. Instead, he turned and walked away, vanishing into the light. As he walked away, he began singing something, surprising Arceus greatly which his words.

"A howlin' gale will save our worlds, de sun and moon will continue to protect it, a pale-furred guardian will brin' a new beginnin' to all vorlds, a summer breeze shall save what has been lost."

* * *

><p>A hoe flew forward across the dirt, landing on the other end of the patch. The farmer pulled the hoe back toward him, breaking up the soil. Now the village kids had left he had an hour or so before night fell to get started on his some-what project.<p>

"Little late in the season to be planting, isn't it?"

The farmer didn't recognise the voice, but he was on a tight schedule before the twilight ended so he didn't turn to face the owner of said voice behind him.

"Better late than never, we always say" the farmer responded.

The stranger laughed. "Mind if I sit here?"

Not quite sure what the stranger meant by 'here', the farmer stopped to wipe his brow and shrug. He heard the stranger sit down with a sigh, and he took note it wasn't a very old voice - rather high-pitched as if it hadn't broken yet, but somehow he had a feeling it wasn't a particularly young child he was dealing with.

"How long have you been tending this land?"

"Well, my grandfather bought the land and the adjoining house - my family never saw a reason to leave" the farmer explained, getting back to hoeing.

"Not even through the war?"

It was a strange question to ask, but the farmer took it in his stride. "It never spread down here - and I reckon Fiore took the worst of it."

"That may be the only thing the Fiorians agree on."

Another strange comment. The farmer frowned as he continued working. "Are you from Fiore then?"

He couldn't help but think of the Fiore ranger that had staggered onto this farm twelve years ago.

"Oh, well I was born somewhere far, far away, probably. But I was fostered in this area."

"Really?" the farmer raised an eyebrow, still not turning around. "I have a son like that. He's away at Ranger School at the moment." He sighed. "Hope he's happy there - he never seemed to be happy here."

"How so?"

"Well, he was always going on about his real family - said he wanted to find them" the farmer answered, pulling up a weed and tossing it over his shoulder. "I don't know if he was ever happy with us."

"Well, to go to Ranger School he must be a caring and intelligent young man - clearly you raised him well."

The farmer paused for a second before continuing with his work. "You think?"

"Most definitely. And maybe he really does feel happy being a part of your family - he just needed a good shock to realise that."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and he'll probably tell you that himself when he comes to terms with it."

The farmer almost laughed. "Well, he won't be _tell_ing me anything. I'm afraid he's been audibly challenged for as long as I can remember."

"Oh. Mute?"

"I believe the technical term is 'audibly challenged'" the farmer explained "No logical reason for him to be so though."

The stranger sighed. "Well I suppose a lot of psychic beings have trouble speaking in the first decade or so of their life."

The farmer was about to respond when he realised something. "How did you know he was a...?"

He finally turned around, but ended up dropping the hoe in shock. Sitting on one of the large rocks at the entrance to the farm was a very familiar face. Though he was slightly taller and had darker brown hair and he was wearing a green cloak the farmer had never seen before, it was blindingly obvious who this 'stranger' was.

"Kellyn?" the farmer was in disbelief. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

The boy rose to his feet, looking rather sheepish to say the least. "Hi...Dad."

Still in disbelief. "You're—"

"Not 'audibly challenged', yeah I know" Kellyn finished for him. He seemed almost quite flustered - his sweating hands clutching onto his sleeves and his chin refusing to remain up for more than a second. "S-Sorry it took so long."

"So long?" the farmer...the father...was confused "Son, it's only been a year. That's how long you were—"

"No! No, not that!" Kellyn quickly cut him off "I mean...for what I said before, I mean," he bit his lip and took a breath "For...for not realising I...I _had_ a family already." A smile worked it's way back onto his face, but it was a nervous one. "I...I'm sorry."

The father just smiled and brought his son into a hug. "You realise now. That's all that matters."

Kellyn swallowed and almost felt tears run. "Thank you...Dad."

* * *

><p>A shooting star whizzed across the sky, bright flashes of white and yellow streaming out behind it in its wake. The seven-year-old knelt up on her bed, peering out her bedroom window with the window thrown open so she could stare up at the sparkling stars. Her dark-green eyes lit up even more when she saw the shooting star falling to earth - and it looked like it was going to fall close to her house!<p>

"A shooting star!" she gasped.

She swung herself off the bed, pulling the window closed as she did so (Daddy was always being told off for leaving windows open by Mummy and she was determined to be better than _him_) and raced over to the door. She carefully opened her bedroom door without a sound so Mummy and Daddy wouldn't hear her and tiptoed along the corridor. Peering down the stairs before she crept down them, she took her coat from the wooden peg shaped like a Sunkern and quietly opened and closed the front door behind her.

Now out in the open air, she could see the stars dusting the black sky, and the bright light falling from the sky. Hurrying out to the Partner Farm, she craned her neck back to watch the shooting star: falling from the heavens straight towards her!

'_I could reach out and catch it_!' she realised, holding her hands out.

She noticed the star wasn't very big - probably no bigger than a capture disk - and was falling a little to the left of her, so she quickly sidestepped so she was back in it's path. With an explosion of silver and yellow sparks and a ripple of comforting warmth, the star flew into her hands, feeling like a warmed stone in her hands but not hot enough to inflict pain.

"Wow!" the girl gasped, jade eyes sparkling. She cupped the star in her palms, still sparkling with light as bright as a mini sun. But the light seemed to flicker and dim at times, and a sad aura seemed to eminate from it.

"Are you alright?" she asked, frowning with concern.

"N-No" a small, tired voice whispered, and the girl was sure it was the star speaking.

"You can talk!" the girl gasped with a huge smile "Where are you from?!"

"...A long, long way away" the voice whispered again "Another world. Another dimension. I was part of a group, but was cast aside. They never really liked me, but now they want me gone for good. I didn't have anywhere to go so I just...fell."

The girl felt a sadness in the pit of her heart as she realised the light was almost crying.

"Are you sad?" she asked. Best to ask after all.

She didn't get an exact reply. But instead she got a question: "W-Who are you?"

The girl perked up, grinning. "My name is Summer! Nice to meet you!"

"You...you're someone special."

Summer wanted to glow with pride upon hearing that. Sure, her daddy told her it all the time - but this was a _star_! Or at least, she thought so. But it fell from the sky - surely it had to be a star!

"Maybe...maybe you're who I've been waiting for..."

"Huh?" Summer didn't understand what this meant.

"Please...please can I stay here? So I won't be alone?"

"Sure!" Summer smiled "If it makes you happy!"

"Summer, if you ever need help, I'll always be there. This will never be forgotten. Thank you."

Summer cupped her palms together, encasing the 'star' between them her hands as light escaped through cracks between her fingers and palms. She felt it soak through her skin into her body, filling her with happiness and peace. Placing her now empty hands still over her heart, Summer closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of it's warmth spreading throughout her body, eternally grateful for its new resting place.

"A shooting star is a sign of greatness some day" Summer found herself saying in words she didn't think were her own "A sign of a great destiny." She smiled up at the stars, watching them turning the sky from black to silver "And someday, our destinies will be the greatest of them all."

* * *

><p><strong>Someday, this world and all others would be saved and protected by the heroes standing beneath this blaze of stars...<strong>

**...But that's another story**


	46. Protector of Loyalty

**Hello favouriters, followers and otherwise readers of Protector of Silence. I just want to thank you all one last time for your support throughout Protector of Silence - it's been a real journey for me and I couldn't have done it without you. Without your support, this would still be a half-written Word document sitting on my computer that me and my bestie Emzie wrote as a way of getting out of watching Pride and Prejudice. Oh how far we have come in two years! :) **

**And know I have a special announcement: at the insistence of my wonderful, supportive readers - the sequel is now officially up! It is called Protector of Loyalty and will cover what has become known to me as 'The Second Generation' as well as answering a few questions left behind by the epilogue of Protector of Silence. I hope you enjoy it and please, please, _please_ if it's not too much of a hassle can you review the new story? Guest reviews, regular reviews, short reviews, long reviews - nothing spurs a writer on more than reviews. ;D**

**Until then, below is a small taster of what's to come.**

**All flames will be fed to the Aracines for lunch.**

**Graçias y bueñas notches!**

* * *

><p>"Point is, now Hanukkah is over and now I get to spend the rest of the year with the only significant other I need in my life in my most favourite place in the world."<p>

"Aww. I'm touched my 'only significant other I need in my life'."

* * *

><p>"My <em>family<em> are from Cinnabar Island - I was born and raised in Oblivia."

* * *

><p>"What do you mean I don't know fun? I am capable of plenty of fun thank you - just in moderated doses, unlike <em>someone<em> we know."

"Kellyn, you're the guy who took Summer to the theme park for her eighth birthday only to refuse to get on any rides with the excuse - and I quote - 'No Small Child, I'm not getting on that lawsuit waiting to happen'."

* * *

><p>"Excuse my French, but what the hell is wrong with you?!"<p>

* * *

><p>"I do not have a bad temper."<p>

"You threatened to kill Purple-Eyes and raised a weapon on him. I think that counts as a bad temper."

* * *

><p>"Well maybe we could move faster if Aladdin over there wore more sensible trousers!"<p>

"They're _shorts_."

"In what life?!"

* * *

><p>"If you could make a horcrux out of anything, what would it be?"<p>

"I dunno."

"What's a horcrux?"

"You: your hair gel - you guard it with your life."

"My wallet - no one would ever find the bloody thing!"

* * *

><p>"Does she stand a chance in hell on her own?"<p>

"Maybe. If she develops this little thing called intelligence. Which she won't."

* * *

><p>"Will you please talk to yourself more quietly, I'm trying to figure out what to do with you."<p>

* * *

><p>"Your father is one of the greatest rangers that's ever lived."<p>

"He's also the guy who lied to me for the last fourteen years of my life!"

* * *

><p>"Will you please remain still? You will need to stay in this bed until further—"<p>

"I don't need to stay in bed! I could beat an army!"

"Sure you could man, but it might not be a good idea to p-off the people with the needles."

* * *

><p>"Rand! What are you doing here?!"<p>

"First of all, because Booker needs at least one adult friend. And second, to find out WHAT THE HELL YOU WERE THINKING?!"

* * *

><p>"Dare I ask?"<p>

"Helping."

"Helping me do what, kill trees? Seriously, how many rain forests are you planning on cutting down?"

* * *

><p>"Oblivia was in great danger once before. The one behind it was a man named Edward - a former criminal who wanted to get back to his old tricks. But no one suspected him, because he masqueraded as a doctor. I' not saying this guy is a bad person, or that he lied to you - just that you can't rely on what a person tells you to judge exactly who they are."<p>

* * *

><p>"You <em>stole<em> Booker's boat?! _Booker's boat_?! Are you insane?! Good Mew, have you lost your mind?!"

"What was I supposed to do, take the bus?!"

* * *

><p>"Hey, I nicked these from the cafeteria for ya."<p>

"No thanks."

"Hey, you shouldn't waste food - hunger's a big problem in this country! Although so is obesity, so that's kinda confusing."

* * *

><p>"It wasn't until Father took him in he truly felt safe - and even then not until Solana was there did he really start to trust people. And I...I can't bear for a child of mine to go through that - to make them got through the same horror. I just couldn't!"<p>

* * *

><p>"I won't let my child go through life not knowing who their father is, and I won't let myself go through what my father went through. I'm not going to let my child grow up without me being there with them!"<p>

* * *

><p>"ARRGHHH! I. Am. Not. Being. Kidnapped. AGAIN!"<p>

* * *

><p>"Please do not tell me he deserted us."<p>

"Well, I wouldn't say _deserted_. More like he—"

"He left us here. That's deserting."

"...okay, then maybe he did."

* * *

><p>"...When Joshua saves us, I'm gonna kill 'im."<p>

"There's a queue."

"Since when did you have the urge to murder anyone?"

"_I_ don't. But probably half the people in the base will want a shot at him once they're done with him."

"Ah, true."

* * *

><p>"So, do you have something even resembling a plan or do we just look until we get captured and make it up from there?"<p>

* * *

><p>"Whatever Teen-Rex! Not all of us can afford to be the height of the Chrysler building!"<p>

"Why, 'cos you think looking cute and innocent will fool the legendaries into granting you leniency?"

"No, but because _height_ won't save you from Owari when he finds out you're here."

* * *

><p>"What happened?"<p>

"Joshua shot you. But don't worry, Joshua likes shooting people."

* * *

><p>"The mayor called here not long after you left. He called you a great Oblivian."<p>

"A great Oblivian what?"

"I dunno. He didn't say."

* * *

><p>"You are the bravest and most incredible girl I've ever met."<p> 


End file.
